Scaeva affinis

Scaeva affinis, commonly known as the white-bowed smoothwing, is a species of hoverfly found in western North America.^[1] The larval form feeds voraciously on aphids.^[2] Scaeva affinis is the only Scaeva likely to be encountered in the Nearctic realm, where it is common in the west and rare in the east.^[3] This species is believed to be migratory.^[4] In 1823, Thomas Say originally described it as "tergum black with three yellow lunules on each side...inhabits Arkansa."^[5] S. affinis was later combined with (and then determined to be a distinct species and was split back off from) Scaeva pyrastri.^[6]

Scaeva affinis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Diptera
Family:	Syrphidae
Subfamily:	Syrphinae
Tribe:	Syrphini
Genus:	Scaeva
Species:	S. affinis
Binomial name
Scaeva affinis (Say, 1823)