Scaeva Pyrastri ( Linnaeus, 1758) Wing length 10.5mm to 12mm.
A large and noticeable hoverfly with pairs of upward curving creamy-white bars; known as the “Pied Hoverfly”.
Flight time in UK. May to November, peaking in August.
Habitat…Urban gardens, wasteland, meadows throughout Great Britain.
Not many are thought to survive through the winter months, so it is believed the breeding population depends on migration each year from mainland Europe.
The larva feeds on a wide range of ground layer (The lowest layer of a plant community). Adults are often seen visiting flowers.
This is a migrant Hoverfly and arrives into Britain around June, from southern and central Europe. In late summer another generation develops from the breeding migrants.
Widespread in the lowlands of the southern half of Britain, scarce further north and rare in Scotland.
Being a migratory species, its population varies from year to year.