#3773 · 🪰 flies & mosquitoes

Narcissus Bulb Fly

🇳🇱 Grote narcisvlieg ·Merodon equestris

🪰 Flies & mosquitoes 📍 in the Netherlands

9 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

what is it?

Merodon equestris (Narcissus bulb fly, greater bulb fly, large bulb fly, large Narcissus fly) is a Holarctic species of hoverfly (Family Syrphidae). Like many other hoverflies it displays a colouration pattern similar to a stinging insect (a bumblebee in this case) as an evolutionary defense mechanism. Other syrphid bee mimics are Mallota , Arctophila , Criorhina , Pocota and Brachypalpus .

base stats

NL sightings 360iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 20,692iNaturalist observations

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).

fun facts

Spotted 360 times in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: the #22 most seen of the flies & mosquitoes in NL.
20,692 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
Scientifically named by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1794 (232 years ago).