Eristalis
| Eristalis | |
|---|---|
| Common drone fly (Eristalis tenax) on the flowers of a common lantana (Lantana camara) | |
| Global distribution of Eristalis species observations produced from GBIF observations | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| Family: | Syrphidae |
| Subfamily: | Eristalinae |
| Tribe: | Eristalini |
| Subtribe: | Eristalina |
| Genus: | Eristalis Latreille, 1804 |
| Type species | |
| Musca tenax | |
| Subgenera | |
| |
| Synonyms | |
Eristalis is a large genus of hoverflies, family Syrphidae, in the order Diptera. Several species are known as drone flies (or droneflies) because they bear a resemblance to honeybee drones.
Drone flies and their relatives are fairly common generalist pollinators, the larvae of which are aquatic, and breathe through a long, snorkel-like appendage, hence the common name rat-tailed maggots.
Eristalis is a large genus of around 99 species, and is subdivided into several subgenera and species groups (Eristalomyia, Eristalis, Eoseristalis etc.).