Monday 9 July 2012

A beautiful wasp-mimic hoverfly

While in the wildlife garden a couple of days ago, I noticed a large boldly marked hoverfly male hovering by the pond. I managed just a couple of shots, but this one is enough to identify it as Chrysotoxum festivum, a relatively scarce hoverfly in the north of England. Unlike other hoverflies, this genus has long, forward-pointing antennae, which contribute to liken it to a wasp. There is little information on the biology of this genus, although the larvae have been found inside ants nests, where they presumably feed on ant-attended ground aphids. 

4 comments:

biobabbler said...

Wow, that IS a gorgeous creature. Nice!! =)

RayHolden said...

I had one in my garden today, a real "who are you?/hey, I know who you are!" moment. Those antennae are a give-away with the Chrysotoxums.

RayHolden said...

...and it came back today:
http://flic.kr/p/cBFLEL

Africa Gomez said...

That's greay Ray. I am yet to see it in my garden. Could you take photos?