Best time to see: May to end Aug
Key facts
A hoverfly that looks like a bumblebee to deter predators
Habitat: woodland margins, urban wasteland and sometimes gardens
Recognition
One of the largest hoverflies at 20mm long, with a furry body like a bumblebee
Red-tailed and white-tailed forms, mimicking different species of bumblebee
Lifecycle
The female crawls cautiously into wasp nests to lay its eggs
The developing hoverfly larvae feed on debris within the nest, and perhaps for that reason are tolerated by their hosts
They pupate in the ground below the nest and emerge the following spring
© Tony Gunton