Species: Orange-belted Plumehorn (Volucella inflata)
Family: Hoverflies (SYRPHIDAE)
Category: Insects (Other)
Location: NE
A. Insects (Other)
More extensive information on insects can be found in a separate blog post.
B. Hoverflies (SYRPHIDAE)
True to their name, the hoverflies hover around flowers, and then alight to feed on nectar and pollen. They are very important pollinators, and despite the fact that some look like wasps or bees, this is just mimicry and helps to keep potential predators at bay. Hoverflies have no sting, and have short, drooping antennae. The larvae are as useful as the adults, in that they feed on aphids.
We have a photograph-filled blog post about all the hoverflies that we have seen in the Cemetery that may be worth your time.
C. Orange-belted Plumehorn (Volucella inflata)
This is a chunky hoverfly with a wingspan of about 12 millimetres, easily mistaken for a not very hairy bumblebee or a small hornet. Yet as a hoverfly, it neither stings nor bites!
It is found in mature woodlands in southern Britain, appearing to require mature trees that have sap wounds created by beetle larvae. It visits, thistles, brambles and umbellifers and are at their most numerous in June and July.
Images
Orange-belted Plumehorn
This is a chunky hoverfly about 12 millimetres in length, easily mistaken for a not very hairy bumblebee or a small hornet.
Orange-belted Plumehorn
The Orange-belted Plumehorn hoverfly is found in mature woodlands in southern Britain, appearing to require mature trees that have sap wounds created by beetle larvae.
Orange-belted Plumehorn
The Orange-belted Plumehorn visits, thistles, brambles and umbellifers and are at their most numerous in June and July.
