Locust Blowfly

Stomorhina lunata can reach a length of 5–9 millimetres (0.20–0.35 in) and a wingspan of 13–16 millimetres (0.51–0.63 in). These distinctive, medium-sized blowflies are rather similar to the house flies, but they have a characteristic prominent proboscis, a longitudinally striped thorax and an abdomen with yellow and black bands. Males have large orange patches on the sides of tergites 3 and 4, while females only show grey dust patches. This distinctively marked species is often misidentified because of the unusual band pattern in the abdomen, typical of hoverflies.

This species is present in most of Europe, the Afrotropical realm, the eastern Palearctic realm, the Near East and North Africa, the Indomalayan realm, and the Nearctic realm. These flies usually inhabit meadows.