Eristalinus
Eristalinus is a genus of hoverfly. Most species have very distinctive eye marking in the form of spots or banding, though these features may fade on some preserved specimens. Most are stout flies, and are nimble flyers, even compared to other hoverfly species. Systematics. At one time the members of this genus were divided into three clades ("Eristalinus", "Eristalodes" and "Lathyrophthalmus") based on morphological characters such as whether the eyes were spotted or striped. Recently Pérez-Bañon "et al." studying the European species of "Eristalinus" using a combination of molecular data and male genitalia characters have determined that the  genus in Europe at least, divides neatly into two clades - "Eristalinus" (+ "Lathyrophthalmus") & "Eristalodes". It was also discovered that the eye patterning was not taxonomically important as "Eristalodes" contained members with eyes either spotted or striped. The following list is an attempt to organise some of the species under subgeneric headings: List of species by subgenus. Eristalinus Lathyrophthalmus Eristalodes Helophilina Merodonoides External links. For photos of North American species see BugGuide page: http://bugguide.net/node/view/33249/bgimage?from=0