About Scaeva affinis Say, 1823
Scaeva affinis, commonly known as the white-bowed smoothwing, is a species of hoverfly native to western North America. Its larvae feed voraciously on aphids. This is the only Scaeva species that people are likely to encounter in the Nearctic realm; it is common in western portions of this region and rare in the east. This species is thought to be migratory. Thomas Say originally described the species in 1823, noting its tergum is black with three yellow lunules on each side, and that it inhabits Arkansa. S. affinis was later merged with Scaeva pyrastri, before being recognized as a distinct species and split back out from it.
