---
title: "Eastern Calligrapher"
description: "Toxomerus geminatus — Insects & spiders. Toxomerus geminatus (Say,1823) the Eastern Calligrapher, is a common species of syrphid fly observed in the eastern and central United States and Canada.(see map) Syrphid flies are also known as Hover Flies or Flower Flies because the adults are frequently found hovering around flowers from which they feed on nectar and pollen."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/eastern-calligrapher
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Eastern Calligrapher

> Toxomerus geminatus — Insects & spiders. Toxomerus geminatus (Say,1823) the  Eastern Calligrapher, is a common species of syrphid fly observed in the eastern and central United States and Canada.(see map) Syrphid flies are also known as Hover Flies or Flower Flies because the adults are frequently found hovering around flowers from which they feed on nectar and pollen.

- Scientific name: *Toxomerus geminatus*
- Category: `insects` (Insects & spiders)
- Habitats: `urban` (Towns & gardens)
- iNaturalist observations: 45128
- Wikidata: [Q2748158](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2748158)
- iNaturalist taxon: [126532](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/126532)

## Names

- en: Eastern Calligrapher
- es: Mosca calígrafa del oriente
- fr: Syrphe géminé

## Countries with the most observations

US (35373), CA (8877)

## Summary

Toxomerus geminatus (Say,1823) the  Eastern Calligrapher, is a common species of syrphid fly observed in the eastern and central United States and Canada.(see map) Syrphid flies are also known as Hover Flies or Flower Flies because the adults are frequently found hovering around flowers from which they feed on nectar and pollen. Adults are  6.1–7.6 mm (0.24–0.30 in) long and are very similar to the Western Calligrapher. The larvae are predators of a variety of aphids and mites.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxomerus_geminatus

## Photo

![Eastern Calligrapher](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/eastern-calligrapher/medium.jpg)

Photo: Adam Kranz · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/76003324

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/eastern-calligrapher?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).