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Helophilus pendulus
Its scientific name means "dangling sun-lover" (from Greek Helios, "sun", -phil, "love", Latin pend-, "hang"). Like other members of the genus Helophilus it has black and yellow longitudinal stripes on the upper surface of its thorax. The abdomen is patterned with yellow, black and grey. It has a black central face-stripe. It has a wing-length of 8.5 - 11.25 mm.
It is associated with a wide variety of waterbodies, from large lakes and rivers down to areas as small as ditches, small ponds or even muddy puddles. Larvae have even been found in cow-dung, very wet manure or very wet old sawdust. This species visits flowers; it also commonly rests on leaves. It often emits a buzzing sound when resting. It is a notable wanderer and can be found well away from water. The larvae feed on detritus.
Hi Dungeonmastershu: Thanks for the ID!
You are correct. Here I am used to see different types of hoverflies but is the first time I see these ones.
if you happen to check the wiki page and wonder what i am talking about... i just edited it!
i have noticed that the etymology of the genus is incorrect...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helophilus_... - states "Greek Helos = "marsh, swamp" and
http://www.cirrusimage.com/flies_Helophi... - states "Helophilus, from Latin "Sun Lover""
I was pretty sure that Helios is "Sun" in both latin and greek, and after some looking around i think wiki is wrong here.
based on the scratching around i did, the common name could be "Hanging Sun-Lover"
Anyone have an opinion here, i am by no means an etymology or entomology expert...?
Awesome shots... took a long time to find this id! still looking for species.
Spotted on Oct 23, 2011
Submitted on Oct 30, 2011
