Hornet mimic hoverfly

Description:

Volucella zonaria is a large hoverfly (almost 2cm long) which does a great impression of a hornet. The thorax is brown and the abdomen is yellow with two thick black stripes. This is a harmless insect with no sting. It's thought the larvae live inside wasp's nests.

Habitat:

It appears that hornet hoverflies prefer suburban habitats (presumably because of climatic factors) and can be found in parks, gardens, local nature reserves and other suburban areas with a good supply of flowers and hornet and wasp nests.