Drone fly - Eristalis tenax - Family: Syrphidae

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Drone fly - Eristalis tenax
© Roger Key/English Nature

This hoverfly is an excellent honey bee mimic, so much so that it is often wrongly featured in photographs of bees. It is a large, brown and orange species, with a very broad black face stripe, and very obvious hair patches on the eyes.

Larvae are 'rat-tailed maggots', developing either in organic material which is very wet or, more usually, in water. They are even able to do well in 'foul' water with a high organic content and lacking oxygen, as the 'rat-tail' - essentially a snorkel! - is extended to the surface to find air. They are widely distributed and generally common. The adults over-winter in sites as diverse as sand martin nest burrows and shallow cave and cellar sites. Adults visit flowers, especially autumn-flowering species such as ivy and Michaelmas daisy and spring flowering species such as willow.

Food

The adult flies feed on pollen and nectar. The larvae are detritus feeders.

Plants

Goat willow, Ivy, Michaelmas daisy