Milesia crabroniformis

Milesia crabroniformis is a species of flower flies or hoverflies belonging to the family Syrphidae subfamily Eristalinae.

Distribution

This species is mainly present in Belgium, France, Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, in the Near East and in North Africa.

Description

The adults of Milesia crabroniformis grow up to long. These rather uncommon hoverflies are the largest among the European species.
They show a yellow face, reddish femurs, a yellow-brown abdomen and its wings are shaded with yellow-orange. Eyes of males are holoptic, although they meet along the dorsal length of the head in a very low point of contact.
They mimic the hornet species Vespa crabro. It is also very similar to Volucella zonaria, a smaller syrphid.

Biology

Adults can mainly be encountered from June through October, with a peak at the end of August. They inhabit evergreen and deciduous forests, feeding on nectar of flowers of several plants.
Their larvae develop on decaying wood and rotting cavities of old Fagus and Quercus species.