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Episyrphus balteatus
Episyrphus balteatus, sometimes called the marmalade hoverfly, is a relatively small hoverfly (9–12 mm) of the Syrphidae family, widespread throughout all continents. Like most other hoverflies, it mimics a much more dangerous insect, the solitary wasp, though it is a quite harmless species. The upper side of the abdomen is patterned with orange and black bands. Two further identification characters are the presence of secondary black bands on the third and fourth dorsal plates and faint greyish longitudinal stripes on the thorax.
Spotted on Mar 22, 2013
Submitted on Mar 22, 2013
10 Comments
@YukoChartraw Thank You!
Nice capture!
Me I agree with drP And Thank You For More :)
Hi Ali, I agree with drP's suggestion. This is a male Episyrphus balteatus - http://insects-flies.persiangig.com/imag...
The female is the one with the dark mark at the end of the abdomen - http://insects-flies.persiangig.com/imag....
Source: http://insects-flies.persiangig.com/imag....
Thank you for your suggestion, I'll probably have another suggestion friends
I originally posted this as an official ID suggestion, but decided to play it safe and make it just a comment. I don't know what else it could be, and what I've read about E. balteatus suggests there's no other hoverfly that looks closely like it.
nice ! I too have it !!
But I think this is?
@drp Thank You So Much For Id :-)
It looks very much like a marmalade hoverfly, Episyrphus balteatus (http://eol.org/pages/750052/overview) but I don't know if it occurs here. Also, there is usually a dark mark on the end of the abdomen, and that is absent here. This may be a different species of Episyrphus.