Green Hoverfly - Austalis copiosa

Family Syrphidae

This page contains pictures and information about Green Hoverflies that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.


Body length 8mm

This Hover Fly is metallic green and brownish-yellow in colours. Head and legs are bright yellow. There are dark and pale stripes on metallic green thorax. The arista is bare. Wings are clear and glassy. There is a board dark brown-green stripe at the middle of brownish-yellow abdomen.



We found many of them in Yugarapul Park during Sep 2003.



On Sep 2011 in Venman Bushland, we found many of them rested next to the small creek. In our 10km walking trip, we walked across the small creek many times. We noticed every time crossing the creek there were at least one or two of this fly resting next to the creek. They were either resting on or flying near ground level to defense their territory.



The larvae are known as rat-tailed maggots. They are aquatic and have a distinctive habitus. They are filter feeders in flesh waters. The larvae purify water by filtering out microorganisms and other products.



For this species, males have eyes very close, even touching each other. All flies in this page are males. For general information about hover fly please check this page.