Iridescent Bromeliad Fly Copestylum vesicularium (Curran, 1947)    
Kingdom Animalia   >   Phylum Arthropoda   >   Class Insecta   >   Order Diptera   >   Family Syrphidae   >   Genus Copestylum   

Status:

Uncommon. In Maryland it flies mostly June through September.

Description:

Identifiable from photos with care. Note pale abdominal base in contrast to the dark base of the similar C. barei. Superficially similar to some non-Syrphidae, such as greenbottle flies (Lucilia sp.), but when at rest wings are stacked rather than separated at an angle, among many other distinctions.

Relationships:

This is a large but mostly neotropical genus. Larvae of most species live in bromeliads, as the common name suggests (Skevington, 2019), but they can develop in various kinds of decaying vegetable matter (BugGuide). Adults visit a variety of flowers.

There are 22 records in the project database.

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An Iridescent Bromeliad Fly in Anne Arundel Co., Maryland (7/3/2020). (c) Sergei Drovetski, all rights reserved. Photo by Sergei Drovetski. (MBP list)

An Iridescent Bromeliad Fly in Howard Co., Maryland (9/1/2020). (c) akorman60, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by akorman60 via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

An Iridescent Bromeliad Fly (group) in Baltimore Co., Maryland (6/28/2015). Determined to Copestylum vesicularium group by Kelsey J.R.P. Byers and Martin Hauser/BugGuide. Photo by Emily Stanley. (MBP list)

An Iridescent Bromeliad Fly in Montgomery Co., Maryland (7/4/2022). (c) Katja Schulz, some rights reserved (CC BY). Photo by Katja Schulz via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

A male Iridescent Bromeliad Fly in Prince George's Co., Maryland (6/14/2017). Verified by Bob Biagi/BugGuide. Photo by Jesse Christopherson. (MBP list)

An Iridescent Bromeliad Fly in Prince George's Co., Maryland (6/14/2017). Determined by Bob Biagi and Martin Hauser via BugGuide. Photo by Jesse Christopherson. (MBP list)

An Iridescent Bromeliad Fly in Baltimore Co., Maryland (7/16/2021). (c) Frode Jacobsen, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Frode Jacobsen. (MBP list)

An Iridescent Bromeliad Fly in Prince George's Co., Maryland (7/3/2019). (c) Hans Holbrook, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Hans Holbrook. (MBP list)

An Iridescent Bromeliad Fly in Prince George's Co., Maryland (7/3/2019). (c) Hans Holbrook, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Hans Holbrook. (MBP list)

An Iridescent Bromeliad Fly in Baltimore Co., Maryland (7/13/2021). (c) Emily L. Stanley, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Emily Stanley. (MBP list)

An Iridescent Bromeliad Fly in Baltimore Co., Maryland (7/5/2021). (c) Frode Jacobsen, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Frode Jacobsen. (MBP list)

An Iridescent Bromeliad Fly in Baltimore Co., Maryland (7/5/2021). (c) Frode Jacobsen, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Frode Jacobsen. (MBP list)

An Iridescent Bromeliad Fly in Montgomery Co., Maryland (7/4/2022). (c) Katja Schulz, some rights reserved (CC BY). Photo by Katja Schulz via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

An Iridescent Bromeliad Fly in Prince George's Co., Maryland (8/5/2019). (c) Hans Holbrook, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Hans Holbrook. (MBP list)

An Iridescent Bromeliad Fly in Worcester Co., Maryland (7/28/2015). (c) scottyastro, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Scott Housten. (MBP list)

An Iridescent Bromeliad Fly in Anne Arundel Co., Maryland (7/21/2021). (c) Hugh McGuinness, all rights reserved. Photo by Hugh McGuinness. (MBP list)

An Iridescent Bromeliad Fly in Prince George's Co., Maryland (6/16/2017). (c) Hans Holbrook, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Hans Holbrook. (MBP list)


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