hornet fly

English

Noun

hornet fly (plural hornet flies)

1. Any of genus Spilomyia of hoverflies (Syrphidae), many with coloring resembling that of hornets, some of which are predators of insect pests, others nectar-feeding pollinators.
2. (archaic) Any of the genus Asilus and allied genera of large, fierce dipterous robber flies (Asilidae) that often prey on insects larger than themselves to suck their blood, the males of which resemble hornets in coloring.

   Hypernym: hawk fly, robber fly

Derived terms

• bald-faced hornet fly (Spilomyia fusca)
• broad-banded hornet fly (Spilomyia alcimus)
• Crandall's hornet fly (Spilomyia crandalli)
• four-lined hornet fly (Spilomyia sayi)
• interrupted hornet fly (Spilomyia interrupta)
• Rocky Mountain hornet fly (Spilomyia liturata)
• western hornet fly (Spilomyia citima)

 

References

• “hornet fly”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• Spilomyia on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Spilomyia on Wikispecies.Wikispecies