Volucella zonaria ( Hornet mimicking hoverfly)

[Cobra]

Its not at all Fugly, just very much misunderstood.
I gotta say though its a bit of a beast compared to the "delicate ones" I usually get here.


071Volucella zonaria by Cobra, on Flickr


Volucella zonaria by Cobra, on Flickr


073Volucella zonaria by Cobra, on Flickr

 

[Callophrys]

That one's a male, as the eyes touch on the top of the head.

Have you submitted this sighting to iRecord? There's a National Hoverfly Recording Scheme who would be interested in this record, as V. zonaria seems to be increasing its range, and record submissions allow them to map its spread accurately.

Cheers,

Dave

 

[Cobra]

That one's a male, as the eyes touch on the top of the head.

Have you submitted this sighting to iRecord? There's a National Hoverfly Recording Scheme who would be interested in this record, as V. zonaria seems to be increasing its range, and record submissions allow them to map its spread accurately.

Cheers,

Dave

Thanks for the info Dave
And No, as I never knew there was such a thing tbh, I'll look into it

 

[coopers]

They have a F/B page,I submit Hoverflies and its easy,just need pic,date and grid ref,nice to do my bit.
Nice shots
Clive.

 

[Cobra]

They have a F/B page,I submit Hoverflies and its easy,just need pic,date and grid ref,nice to do my bit.
Nice shots
Clive.

Thanks and thanks

 

[GarethB]

Great images Chris!

A fascinating and impressive beastie for sure!

I photographed something similar a few days ago - I perhaps incorrectly identified mine as a Drone Fly (Eristalis tenax).
I didn't know what I was looking at, at first - as you say it looks like a monster hoverfly!

What do you think?
(These are not great quality, and are very heavy crops, but it certainly looks very similar)

With reference to what @Callophrys said, mine too looks like a male.

 

[Cobra]

What do you think?

I'd say so.
The "nose" seems to be a bit of a give-away TBH.

 

[GarethB]

I'd say so.
The "nose" seems to be a bit of a give-away TBH.

Thanks Chris, I agree 100%!
After a bit of googling, I see now that my initial identification was incorrect.
The nosal protuberance (not the official term I'm sure!) is indeed a good identifier.
Sorry to hijack your thread.

 

[Cobra]

Sorry to hijack your thread.

That's OK Gareth, I'll just ban you for the next two weeks from the 52'ers ..
You wanted a "Clean sheet"? no chance

 

[GarethB]

That's OK Gareth, I'll just ban you for the next two weeks from the 52'ers ..
You wanted a "Clean sheet"? no chance

Yikes!!
Well then....in for a penny, in for a pound....

By the way, are you 'Cactuschris' over on the hoverfly recording register?
Thinking I might post my (far inferior) images there too.
Note the grovelly nature of that sentence....please don't ban me....please and thank you!!

 

[Cobra]

Note the grovelly nature of that sentence....please don't ban me....please and thank you!!

By the way, are you 'Cactuschris' over on the hoverfly recording register?

No, that's not me, I've not got around to it yet.

 

[GarethB]

No, that's not me, I've not got around to it yet.

Oops, sorry about that - the message was posted on the same day you posted here.
There I go again....adding 2 and 2 and getting 5!