Marmalade flies everywhere!

Marmalade flies, Episyrphus balteatus, are the most common British hoverfly, and can be seen year round as they are able to overwinter as adults. However, at this time of the year, they are at their most abundant, as I walk around the garden, every flowers seems to have a few males hovering nearby or females feeding on the flowers. These slim, small hoverfly is able to migrate, and this occasionally bumps the numbers of British individuals. They are very distinctive, as the pattern of double black lines in the abdomen is unique to this species. The male above (eyes meet at the top of the head in many male hoverflies), settled briefly on an Agapanthus flower bud, and rubbed its feet together, keeping its wing open for a few seconds.