First of all the word "Syrphidae" is the scientific (Latin) name for one fly family. In English also known as a Hoverfly (UK) or Flower fly (US) (see below for more translations). Hoverflies use mimicry to hide from their enemies (mostly birds or other insects but also from you...). It is therefore that Hoverflies are quickly mistaken for wasps, bees or bumblebees. The below images gives you an illustration of that effect:
|Hoverflies:||Pocota personata||Volucella zonaria||Chrysotoxum bicinctum|
In the field you can quickly see if its a Syrphidae due to its flying behaviour. In general (there are always exeptions) when you see a wasp, bee or bumble bee flying "Hovering" in one spot in the air this is most probably just an hoverfly. Wasps, bees and bumblebees are not so athletic in the air. Also intresting to know: Hoverflies do NOT STING you!
The real prove is in the wing where there is an unused vein called "Vena spuria":
Hoverflies do size from 3 mm to 25 mm. In colour Hoverflies look sometimes yellow, orange, red, brown, metallic or black and any combination in between. They can also look slim and bold or fat and hairy. Because of this variety it is why this group is so attractive to work on and is studied very well over the past centuries. The first species where scientifically described in by Linnaeus in 1758. Currently there are around 6000 different hoverfly species described but a lot still needs to be discovered.
|Kukkakärpäset||Mosca das flores|
|ハナアブ科||Ruồi giả ong|