Hoverflies (Syrphidae), tribe Eristalini

Helophilus pendulus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Cambridge: 14 Apr 2002 By far the commonest UK species of Helophilus, which are distinguished by the yellow striped thorax. Hind tibiae yellow on basal two-thirds (better seen here on the left leg) Black stripe on face, (not visible from this angle) Larvae filter food from drains & manure

---

Helophilus trivittatus (Fabricius, 1805)

Cambridge: 14 Jun 2002 Noticeably larger and brighter than H. pendulus: rear abdominal segements are proportionally longer too. No black stripe on face but may be some reddish-brown

---

Myathropa florea (Linnaeus, 1758)

Cambridge: 29 Jun 2002 Thorax black partly bisected with pale bars. Nothing else really like this in the UK. 9mm long. Larvae live in rotting wood, filtering food. Myathropa appears to be an earlier spelling than the variant Myiatropa

---

Return to