Gold Hover Fly

by

Subject: Golden metallic fly
Geographic location of the bug:  Virginia, usa
Date: 10/07/2018
Time: 09:40 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Can you ID this very shiny golden fly? I am at a loss.
How you want your letter signed:  Virginia farm bugwatcher

Gold Hover Fly

Dear Virginia far bugwatcher,
We have not had any luck in our initial search for an identity, but the large eyes lead us to believe this is a male member of the species.  The antennae are also quite distinctive.  Our initial instinct is that this might be a Hover Fly in the family Syrphidae, but a BugGuide search of that family did not turn up any matching images.  How large was this individual?  We are posting your request and perhaps one of our readers will be able to assist with the identification.

Thank you for this response!
It was a fairly large fly, larger than a housefly but smaller than a honeybee.
I think it is quite beautiful. I hope some one knows what it is.
Eric Eaton responds to our request for assistance.
Hi, Daniel:

Eristalinus aeneus is the species.  Those eyes are really something!
Eric
Ed. Note:  According to BugGuide:  “Native to Europe, adventive in NA and now widespread in e. NA (ON-FL)” and “In Europe, larvae often found associated with decaying seaweed.”

You rock!!
This makes me very happy. Thank you,
Nell

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