Volucella pellucens

Common Waldschwebfliege ( Volucella pellucens )

The common Waldschwebfliege or Common Bumblebee hoverfly ( Volucella pellucens ) is a fly from the family of hoverflies (Syrphidae ).

Features

The flies reach a body length of 12-18 millimeters. The forehead and the face with the slightly extended forward mouth are reddish yellow. The sensors are also reddish yellow and have a feathery bristle. The compound eyes are burgundy and very close to the females together. The mesonotum is on the top gloss black, on the sides it is dark rust colored brown and wearing black hair. The scutellum is rust colored brown and has black bristles on the edge. The short and plump abdomen is black, the second abdominal segment, however, is characteristic elfenbeinfärbig. This binding can also be separated in the middle by a narrow black back in two spots. The wings have a conspicuous dark spot in the center. The legs are black, only the knees and the tarsi of the front legs are rust- brown basal.

Occurrence

The animals are found in the Palaearctic and Oriental. They are found in Central Europe from the plains to high positions often and fly from May to September. They live along forest edges, clearings and paths.

Way of life

The adults can be observed when visiting flowers, especially to white flowers, such as elderberry, dogwood, privet, raspberries, blackberries or hogweed, but they also eat tree sap. The larvae develop in the nests of wasps and bumblebees and feed on garbage and dead insects, but probably also from the brood. They overwinter in the soil.

Swell

• Gerald Bothe: hoverflies. German youth club for nature observation, Hamburg 1996.
• Joachim & Hiroko main: flies and mosquitoes: observation of life. Nature -Verlag, Augsburg 1998, ISBN 3-89440-278-4.