About Thaumatomyia notata (Meigen, 1830)
Thaumatomyia notata, commonly known as the yellow swarming fly, is a species of fruit fly or grass fly in the subfamily Chloropinae of the family Chloropidae. This species can be found across most of Europe, the Afrotropical realm, the Near East, North Africa, and the Indomalayan realm. Adult yellow swarming flies reach a maximum length of 3 millimetres (0.12 inches). The thorax and eye margins of this species are bright yellow; the mesonotum has brown longitudinal bands and yellow stripes, while the abdomen is yellow with large horizontal brown stripes. Adults begin flying in late March or the first half of April, and they can be found feeding on flower nectar and various sweet liquids and excretions. This species overwinters as hibernating adults, after producing at least two generations per year. In some localities in Europe, this species displays aggregation behaviour from late summer through December, forming large swarms that look like clouds or smoke, and invade buildings and parks. Larvae of Thaumatomyia notata typically live in the roots of grasses. The larvae are carnivorous, and primarily prey on root aphids, including species such as sugar-beet root aphids (Pemphigus fuscicornis) and lettuce root aphids (Pemphigus bursarius).
