Volucella zonaria

Volucella zonaria ( Volucella zonaria )

Called The Volucella zonaria ( Volucella zonaria ), also Waldschwebfliege Large or Giant Hummelschwebfliege a fly from the family of hoverflies is (Syrphidae ). It mimics the look of hornets to have protection from predators ( mimicry ).

Features

The flies reach a body length of 16-22 mm and are thus relatively large for Central European hoverflies. The face, the forehead and the sensor are colored yellow, the rust-red compound eyes are densely hairy and short. The compound eyes of the females are very close together so that the end is very narrow. The mesonotum is shiny reddish-brown, the scutellum is yellow-brown. The red-yellow abdomen bears two broad black bars. This distinguishes the type of the similar banded Waldschwebfliege ( Volucella inanis ), which is colored similarly, but three black bars on the abdomen has. The first abdominal segment is black. The wings are tinged with reddish brown.

Occurrence

The animals arrive in Europe and Asia prior to the West Siberia and in North Africa. They live in meadows near woods and fly from June to September. They are rarely in Central Europe, in the south on the other hand often. The adults suck nectar at various flowering plants, such as on valerian, oregano, mint Ross, Marsh, dogwood, or privet. Their larvae develop in the nests of wasps and hornets, and there eat detritus.

Swell

• Gerald Bothe: hoverflies. German youth club for nature observation, Hamburg 1996.
• Www.natur- lexikon.com