| Eristalinae | |
|---|---|
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| Volucella zonaria ♀ specimen, dorsal perspective | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| Family: | Syrphidae |
| Subfamily: | Eristalinae |
| Tribes | |
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See text | |
| Synonyms | |
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Eristalinae (or Milesiinae) are one of the four subfamilies of the fly family Syrphidae, or hoverflies. A well-known species included in this subfamily is the dronefly, Eristalis tenax.[1][2][3]
Species in this subfamily are often misclassified as bees instead of flies due to their exceptional Mimicry, especially to resemble Honeybees (family Apidae). The best strategy for proper identification is to look at their eyes and wings and compare with fly morphology, to determine membership of family Syrphidae or of order Hymenoptera.
- ^ Bartsch, Hans (2009). Tvåvingar: Blomflugor Diptera: Syrphidae: Eristalinae & Microdontinae [Flies: hoverfly Diptera: Syrphidae: Eristalinae & Microdontinae] (hardback). Nationalnyckeln/en/ (in Swedish). Vol. 2. The Swedish Taxonomy Initiative. pp. 1–478. ISBN 9789188506702.
- ^ Stubbs, Alan E.; Falk, Steven J. (2002). British Hoverflies: An Illustrated Identification Guide (2nd of Revised ed.). British Entomological and Natural History Society. p. 469. ISBN 978-1899935055.
- ^ Skevington, Jeffrey H (2019). Field Guide to the Flower Flies of Northeastern North America. ISBN 9780691189406.