Heringia vitripennis

Heringia vitripennis is a Palearctic species of hoverfly.

Description

For terms see Morphology of Diptera
Lateral dust spots on frons conspicuous. 3rd antennomere elongate, 2–3 times as long as broad. Male coxa 2 and trochanter 3 without spurs. Abdomen tergites black. Abdomen elongated. 1 with a shiny, pale pit; 2 without keel. Thorax dorsum with long white hairs. Face mostly black-haired. The male genitalia are figured by Delucchi and Pschorn-Walcher. Delucchi et al. figure the larva.
See references for determination

Biology

A woodland species, suburban parks and gardens. Arboreal but visits flowers of white umbellifers, Euphorbia, Potentilla, Prunus serotina, Rosa, Rubus fruticosus and Salix. The larvae are predacious on adelgid aphids. The flight period is May to September.

Distribution

Palearctic Southern Sweden to central France. Ireland eastwards through North Europe and Central Europe into Russia and on to the Russian Far East and Siberia to the Pacific coast.