Oplodontha viridula

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Oplodontha viridula, the common green colonel, is a European soldier fly (family Stratiomyidae). Adults are about 6–8 mm long. Their eyes are purple with bands and spots. The thorax is shiny black and finely punctured, with short dull yellow hairs. The scutellum is black with two yellow spines. In females the legs are yellowish. The abdomen varies in color from whitish to yellow or leaf green, often with a black longitudinal band on the top that can change in size and shape.

The larva is about 16 mm long, brownish with longitudinal stripes. It has short hairs on the back and longer hairs in the middle of the underside.

Habitat: It lives in wetlands—marshes, damp meadows with ditches, salt marshes, and river valleys—where plants such as reeds (Phragmites) and thistles (Cnicus) grow. Adults are seen from late April to early October and feed on pollen and nectar, especially from Achillea millefolium (common yarrow).

Distribution: It occurs across the Palearctic, i.e., much of Europe and nearby regions.