This colorful little fly is approxmately 3/8 inch (10 mm) in length. The face is white with large, dark red eyes. The back of the head is white. The antennae are short and yellow. The thorax is brown with a yellow margin, and the scutellum is dark brown to black with a yellow margin. The abdomen is yellow with black bands and patterns that reach the margin making the margin alternately black and yellow. The tip is rounded in males and pointed in females. The hind femur and tibia of the male is thick and curved like a bow. The wings are clear. A similar species, T. marginatus, has a yellow margin on the abdomen.
This fly is common in our area and it can be seen from spring to fall nectaring on flowers.
The genus includes 17 species in North America. Toxomerus occidentalis is identical in appearance, but is separable by geographic location as it is only found in the western United States.
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