Large hoverfly

[Allan.W.]

Hornet mimic, Hoverfly
Hi all, took this pic in my local wood today , there were several Hornets patrolling the numerous Scabious plants ,but also 2 of these "mimics" I believe they may be
Volucella Zonaria Britains largest Hoverfly ,any of you more experienced entomologists have any thoughts ,are they scarce,and what is their distribution ??

[bugboy]

That does indeed look like V. zonaria, a female since the eyes don't meet at the top. Not as scarce as they used to be. becoming commener with our warming climate. First colonised us in the late 30's and still increasing their range, now found in parts of the midlands and pushing into Wales. They are very impressive insects and I see them often now in late summer. The larvae are scavengers, feeding on debris at the bottom of social wasp nests, including Hornets.

[Sylvie_h]

This is volucella Zonaria indeed. Bugboy is right, the species is expanding and I see it frequently in my garden (I live in West Glamorgan) on hemp agrimony. I also had Volucella Inanis in my garden this year which is a first ! There are beautiful insects and their biology is very interesting as it is associated with wasps as Bugboy described above.
If you wish to learn more on hoverflies, I suggest you get this book:
Britain's Hoverflies: An Introduction to the Hoverflies of Britain (WILDGuides) Paperback – 15 Mar 2013 - Stuart Ball
Sylvie

[Allan.W.]

Hello Bugboy ' and Sylvie,
Bugboy ,many thanks for confirming the ID,of the Hoverfly,and also the distribution etc; pleased to see this beastie on my patch ! and Sylvie thanks for the info concerning the ID guide I may well invest in a copy ! Regards both Allan.W.

[agavegeoff]

On Ivy flowers as well.

[Allan.W.]

Hello all,
Just a short footnote to my original ,posting,ive taken to looking a bit closer at those Hoverflies and found another interesting beastie,actually a mating pair ,I found a website ,and I believe they were "Helophilus trivittatus", similar to the brilliantly named "Footballer", I found them near the "listening ears" at Lade Kent.