Temnostoma balyras (Walker, 1849), the Yellow-haired Falsehorn , is a common species of syrphid fly observed in the eastern half of the United States and adjacent areas of Canada. Hoverflies can remain nearly motionless in flight. The adults are also known as flower flies for they are commonly found on flowers, from which they get both energy-giving nectar and protein-rich pollen. Larvae burrow in moist decayed wood using their hooks as rasping organs operated in a forwards and backwards motion by huge muscles housed in the mesothorax and metathorax.[2] The larvae of T.balyras have been described by Heiss in "A classification of the larvae and puparia of the Syrphidae of Illinois exclusive of aquatic forms".[3][4]

Temnostoma balyras
Temnostoma balyras
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Syrphidae
Subfamily: Eristalinae
Tribe: Milesiini
Subtribe: Temnostomina
Genus: Temnostoma
Species:
T. balyras
Binomial name
Temnostoma balyras
(Walker, 1849)[1]
Synonyms

Distribution

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Canada, United States.

References

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  1. ^ a b Walker, F. (1849). List of the specimens of dipterous insects in the collection of the British Museum. Part III. London: British Museum (Natural History). pp. 485–687.
  2. ^ Rotheray, G.E. (1993). "Colour Guide to Hoverfly Larvae (Diptera, Syrphidae) in Britain and Europe" (PDF). Diperists Digest. 9: 155.
  3. ^ Heiss, Elizabeth Madeleine (1938). "A classification of the larvae and puparia of the Syrphidae of Illinois exclusive of aquatic forms". Series: Illinois biological monographs. 16: 1–142.
  4. ^ Skevington, Jeffrey H (2019). Field Guide to the Flower Flies of Northeastern North America. ISBN 9780691189406.