Of the flies I saw today, this one is my favourite. It's the ngaro tara or three-lined Hover Fly (*Helophilus seelandicus*), a New Zealand endemic species.

I like the sleek colour pattern. It would not look out of place on a coverable sports car.

While the adult is sleek, the larva is a rat-tailed maggot with a long snorkle out its rear end that allows it to eat decomposing matter in stagnant water.

I saw this while on my weekly biodiversity run this afternoon through Ōtautahi-Christchurch city, NZ.

https://www.inaturalist.nz/observations/348889144

#diptera #flies #entomology #nz #Syrphidae #Ōtautahi #Christchurch #iNaturalist