Conops Quadrifasciatus (De Geer, 1776)
Length 10 to 15mm
Flight season: June to September
Family… Conopidae- Thick Headed Flies.
The adults behave similar to solitary wasps.
Many species have wasp-like colouring and markings, they can be seen regularly feeding (and mating) on flowers; they are also good pollinators.
Thick-headed flies are parasitic insects and the larvae are endoparasites (lives inside the host) that feed on adult bumble bees and wasps, can also occasionally attack, solitary bees, crickets and grasshoppers etc. They wait on flowers for a host to arrive, (normally Bumble bees) whilst holding on to the bee the female will inject an egg between the tergites by the means of her hooked abdomen. The egg hatches and the larva feeds on the bee's abdominal contents for about ten days. The bee eventually dies and the larva then pupates and emerges the following summer.
Habitat... Wherever the prey lives, although woodland edges, hedgerows, Grasslands and clearings seem to be favourite. Adults prefer warm sunny areas with attractive nectar sources, often seen on umbellifers and composites.
The images below are of the male...