Members of the fly family ‘Stratiomyidae’ are called soldier flies because of the bright, often metallic colors and regular patterns, like 18th century uniforms. However, soldier flies are not aggressive.
Some large species resemble wasps, while others are smaller and colored brown, green, or metallic bluish black. The eyes cover a large area of the broad, hemispherical, or very rounded head, especially the males. The short antennae are distinctive, with the third segment bent outwards from the basal segments. The wings are folded flat over the body at rest. Although soldier flies are not particularly strong fliers, some can hover.
Chloromyia formosa [meaning: the beautiful green fly] inhabits woods, hedgerows, parks, and gardens. Their flight period is from May until August. Adults feed on nectar from flowers, especially hogweed. The larvae feed on decaying organic matter.