#3902 · 🪰 flies & mosquitoes
Black-horned Gem Fly
🇳🇱 Groene glimwapenvlieg ·Microchrysa polita
7 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences
- 1. © molanic · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 2. © molanic · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 3. © Jon J. Laysell · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 4. © S. Rae · CC BY 4.0
- 5. © Jakob Fahr · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 6. © gbohne · CC BY-SA 4.0
- 7. © S. Rae · CC BY 4.0
what is it?
Microchrysa polita , the black-horned gem , is a European species of soldier fly.
base stats
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 35 times in the Netherlands on iNaturalist.
- 2,996 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
- Scientifically named in 1758 (268 years ago).
fact sheet
- English
- Black-horned Gem Fly
- Nederlands
- Groene glimwapenvlieg
- scientific name
- Microchrysa polita
- class
- Insecta
- order
- Diptera
- family
- Stratiomyidae
- sightings in NL
- 35
- sightings in Europe
- 1,666
- sightings worldwide
- 2,996
- GBIF records in NL
- 3,335
- weight
- —
- length
- —
- lifespan
- —
- named
- 1758
relatives· Stratiomyidae
#3768 📷 10Broad Centurion Fly
🇳🇱 Gewone prachtwapenvlieg
Chloromyia formosa
👀 455 in NL
#3816 📷 10Twin-Spot Centurion Fly
🇳🇱 Herfstmetaalwapenvlieg
Sargus bipunctatus
👀 111 in NL
#3853 📷 10Black Colonel
🇳🇱 Zwarte moeraswapenvlieg
Odontomyia tigrina
👀 62 in NL
#3880 📷 10Flecked General
🇳🇱 Gewone langsprietwapenvlieg
Stratiomys singularior
👀 42 in NL
#3884 📷 8Common Green Colonel
🇳🇱 Kleine moeraswapenvlieg
Oplodontha viridula
👀 40 in NL
#3926 📷 10Twin-spotted Major
🇳🇱 Zwart verfdrupje
Oxycera leonina
👀 29 in NL
#3935 📷 9Black Soldier Fly
🇳🇱 Zwarte soldatenvlieg
Hermetia illucens
👀 13 in NL
Sources: iNaturalist taxon 70119, Wikidata Q6839358, GBIF 1578600, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.