Kebnat

Hover Flies

Syrphidae · 130 species · Page 1 of 3

In Québec, the family Syrphidae (order Diptera) counts 130 species of insects. The stars? Eastern Calligrapher, Margined Calligrapher and Common Drone Fly, the most often observed. The richest region: Montréal, with 71 species. Every species has its own page: photos, its season, its habitat and the best places to see it near you.

Species observed by region

Where do the observations come from?

  • Mostly iNaturalist : photos taken by people all over Québec, with the species confirmed by the community.
  • Other public sources : such as eBird for birds and the provincial forest inventories, gathered by GBIF, the global biodiversity data network.
  • What we keep : confirmed observations, with an exact position (not blurred to protect a rare species), that their author allows to be reused.
  • One place counts once : several observations of the same species at the same spot (within 11 m) count as one.
  • So our numbers are lower : than iNaturalist’s total. A region without observations does not mean the species does not live there.

Data downloaded in September 2026.

  1. Montréal71
  2. Capitale-Nationale69
  3. Montérégie67
  4. Mauricie64
  5. Outaouais62
  6. Estrie56
  7. Côte-Nord54
  8. Laurentides53
  9. Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine50
  10. Abitibi-Témiscamingue42
  11. Lanaudière42
  12. Bas-Saint-Laurent40
  13. Chaudière-Appalaches33
  14. Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean32
  15. Centre-du-Québec31
  16. Nord-du-Québec29
  17. Laval23

Hover Flies 130

Diptera
All4,550Lepidoptera2,108Coleoptera1,199Hemiptera482Hymenoptera230Diptera210Odonata151Orthoptera61Trichoptera35Ephemeroptera23Neuroptera21Mecoptera9Blattodea7Plecoptera7Dermaptera4Mantodea2Phasmida1
Syrphidae
All210Syrphidae130Tabanidae36Bombyliidae21Culicidae21Asilidae1Limoniidae1
Eastern Calligrapher1,063 observations
Margined Calligrapher797 observations
Common Drone Fly582 observations
Transverse-banded Flower Fly471 observations
Narrow-headed Marsh Fly421 observations
Black-shouldered Drone Fly354 observations
Narrow-banded Pond Fly354 observations
Oblique-banded Pond Fly294 observations
Eurasian Drone Fly293 observations
Thick-legged Hover Fly262 observations
Long-tailed Aphideater168 observations
Narcissus Bulb Fly128 observations
Eastern Hornet Fly127 observations
Oblique Streaktail122 observations
Four-lined Hornet Fly113 observations
Bald-faced Hornet Fly100 observations
Orange-legged Drone Fly99 observations
Banded Thintail90 observations
Common Thick-leg Fly86 observations
Black-horned Smoothtail82 observations
Maize Calligrapher72 observations
American Snout Fly72 observations
Wasp-like Falsehorn69 observations
Eastern Band-winged Hover Fly68 observations
Yellow-legged Flower Fly64 observations
Bare-eyed Bee-mimic Fly63 observations
Common Loopwing Aphideater58 observations
Orange-spotted Drone Fly54 observations
White-spotted Pond Fly47 observations
Hairy-eyed Bee-mimic Fly45 observations
Long-nosed Swamp Fly44 observations
Eastern Flower Fly43 observations
Black-spotted Falsehorn42 observations
Black-footed Globetail41 observations
Common Flower Fly39 observations
Tufted Globetail39 observations
Hairy-eyed Flower Fly38 observations
Variable Duskyface Fly32 observations
Short-tailed Aphideater28 observations
Violet Leafwalker26 observations
Spotted Wood Fly25 observations
Common Wood Fly25 observations
Common Bog Fly21 observations
Eastern Catkin Fly20 observations
Broad-headed Marsh Fly19 observations
Dusky-banded Leafwalker15 observations
Slender Smoothtail15 observations
Undivided Lucent15 observations