On my walk ... the marmalade hoverfly

 




Distinguishing between some species of hoverfly can be a real challenge, some species can only be told apart by examination under a microscope but that means capturing and killing a specimen and I am not about to do that. Mine is a hobby project not a scientific study.

Some species, however, are distinctive enough to be identified even from a distance and this one [Episyrphus balteatus] being only 10mm or so in length is one of those more easily identified specimens. It is a slender insect with a quite distinctive shaped abdomen and has a unique pattern of markings on its back. Usually orange and with three alternate pairs of thick and narrow black bars it has earned the nickname of the marmalade hoverfly but you probably will not find it referred to as that in reference books.

This particular insect caught my eye as it has three grey bands and I wondered if it was something other than 'balteatus' but upon reference to my 'bible' on hoverflies I find the markings can be very variable including the presence of grey bands. 

This is one of our most common species of hoverfly and can be potentially seen at any time of the year, it is thought they might hibernate and emerge on warmer winter days for a snack and that is often going to be a member of the 'dandelion' family; this one is on autumn hawkbit. It can be the most numerous species in late summer as numbers are boosted by immigrant insects from Europe.




Comments

  1. Ed Dolphin5 October 2022 at 20:47

    I had one hovering in front of my face for a few seconds this afternoon, amazing skill.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Peter Orchard6 October 2022 at 08:02

    They are top insect, I think they are great. There is nothing not to be impressed by and like in a hoverfly.

    ReplyDelete

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