Hook-banded Wasp-hoverfly

The Hook-banded Wasp-hoverfly is a very boldly marked hoverfly. This hoverfly has a yellow face, yellow markings along the sides of the thorax, along with two pale longitudinal stripes and a black scutellum with a yellow border. There are yellow bars that curve towards the edge of each segment of the abdomen. The wing veins are dull orange and there is a dark cloud near the stigma.

You can see the Hook-banded Wasp-hoverfly in grasslands and scrubby margins, from May to September. The adults feed from flowers and the larvae feed on ant attended aphids.

The Hook-banded Wasp-hoverfly is widespread in the south and east of England, but not so common further north or west. It is scarce in Scotland.