The Common Bog Fly (Parhelophilus laetus) is a medium-sized, orange-colored, Nearctic flower fly. Adults have a pair of stripes on the thorax often with a thin center stripe between them. The hind femur is mostly orange with a black band around the middle. The adults are commonly found perched on grass blades near the shorelines of ponds and wetlands. The larvae have long breathing tubes which allow them to live in low-oxygen waters thick with decaying organic matter.

Flight season:

Flowers: Grass and Sedge

Similar species: Helophilus sp. and Lejops sp.

The Dusky Bog Fly (Parhelophilus rex) is a medium-sized, dark-colored, Nearctic flower fly. Adults have a pair of thin gray stripes on the thorax. The hind femur is almost entirely black. The larvae have long breathing tubes which allow them to live in low-oxygen waters thick with decaying organic matter.

Flight season May – July

Flowers: Willow catkins

Similar species: Parhelophilus obsoletus and Helophilus sp.