Hornet mimic hoverfly

Description:

These very large and wide hoverflies have reddish-brown shining thorax with dark brown marks, and a reddish-brown scutellum. The head shows a waxy yellow face, with yellow forehead and antennae. The large ovoid compound eyes are reddish with dense and short hairy. In the males they are very close to each other, so that the forehead is very narrow. The abdomen is reddish yellow, with two wide black bands. The underside has broad black bars. The first abdominal segment is black. The second tergite is chestnut brown. Wings are amber infused. The legs are basically red-brown, but black at the base.

Habitat:

Parkland path near to a wooded area.

Notes:

Adults can be found from May to September, but they are most common in July / August. Like all Volucella, the adults of these hoverflies are migratory. Volucella zonaria is a Mediterranean migratory species. Females lay their eggs in wasp and hornet nests. The larvae live as commensals in nests of bees, hornets and of social wasps of the genus Vespula.The pupae overwinter in the soil and hatch in following spring.