Tufted Globetail

Sphaerophoria contigua · Order: Diptera · Family: Syrphidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Tufted Globetail
Photo: Bill Keim, CC BY

The tufted globetail is a syrphid fly. Both the adults and larvae eat aphids.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

It belongs to the hoverfly family Syrphidae.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

It lives where aphids are present and feeds on them.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

Its diet consists of aphids.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 47 of 51 states and DC. Most records: California, Illinois, Ohio, Virginia, New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Status: native in North America; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Tufted Globetail photo 3
Photo: Judy Gallagher, CC BY-SA
Tufted Globetail photo 4
Photo: Sarah DiGiorgio, CC BY
Tufted Globetail photo 5
Photo: unknown, CC0
Tufted Globetail photo 6
Photo: Allison Zon, CC BY

Same family (Syrphidae)

Common Drone FlyCommon Drone FlyEristalis tenaxHarmlessMarmalade Hover FlyMarmalade Hover FlyEpisyrphus balteatusMargined CalligrapherMargined CalligrapherToxomerus marginatusEastern CalligrapherEastern CalligrapherToxomerus geminatusYellow-haired Sun FlyYellow-haired Sun FlyMyathropa floreaThick-legged Hover FlyThick-legged Hover FlySyritta pipiens

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphaerophoria_contigua

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.