Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of numerous flies of the family Syrphidae, most of which resemble bees or wasps in form and coloration. Adult syrphids feed on the nectar and pollen of flowers, and the larvae of many species feed on aphids.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Of or pertaining to the Syrphidæ.
  • noun A fly of the family Syrphidæ.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Of or pertaining to flies of the genus Syrphus or the family Syrphidae.
  • noun A fly of the genus Syrphus or the family Syrphidae.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[From New Latin Syrphidae, family name, from Syrphus, type genus, from Greek surphos, gnat.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

New Latin Syrphidae

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Examples

  • Like other members of the daisy family, marigolds also do their share in feeding nectar to beneficial insects, such as syrphid flies, who prey on aphids and other insects that attack garden plants.

    The Seattle Times 2010

  • A syrphid fly ( '' Eristalinus taeniops '') pollinating a Common Hawkweed

    Pollinator Wikipedia 2009

  • Your second photo is not of a bee; it is a syrphid fly.

    Flattened fauna of sidewalks - Part 3 AYDIN 2008

  • Regarding the insect that looked like a bee above: it is actually a syrphid fly that mimics the look of a bee.

    The Sheffies « Fairegarden 2008

  • The birds and lady-beetles devour them bodily, the larvæ of the lace-wings and syrphid-flies extract their blood while the wasps live as internal parasites.

    An Elementary Study of Insects Leonard Haseman

  • The principal enemies of the louse are certain small insect feeding birds, lady-beetles, syrphid-flies, lace-wings and tiny wasp parasites.

    An Elementary Study of Insects Leonard Haseman

  • Among the best-known of syrphid flies are the drone-flies

    The Life-Story of Insects 1902

  • Bees have nicely rounded abdomens; syrphid flies 'bellies are so thin they look squashed.

    BC Bloggers 2010

  • Labels: bee identification, bee mimic, fly, Reifel island Migratory Bird Sanctuary, syrphid fly

    BC Bloggers 2010

  • You don't want to have snarky entomologists point out that your website about bees is prominently featuring …. a syrphid FLY.

    WordPress.com News 2008

Comments

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  • a.k.a. hoverfly

    August 6, 2009