Eristalinus megacephalus has a black abdomen and golden horizontal stripes larger in males.

It has a black thorax,[2] legs with black tips, transparent, flexible wings, a large head and golden compound eyes with pale purple spots.

[3] Being about 8–11 mm long,[4] it is a good pollinator, and uses Batesian mimicry to look like hymenopteran bees and scare away predators.

The species's flight period is from May to October, and is most plentiful from June to July.

[8] E. megacephalus can be found in most countries, including South Africa, Egypt, Sri Lanka, China, Taiwan, India, Java, Guam, Southern Spain, Turkey, North Africa, Iran, and coastal parts of Italy.