Introduction

Episyrphus balteatus (De Geer, 1776) is one of the most common, and distinctive hoverflies in the UK and throughout the Palaearctic region, which covers Europe, North Asia and North Africa.It is small - approximately 10mm long - and has an orange parallel-sided abdomen with narrow black bands.
Hoverfly larvae are aphid predators - they are important biological control agents of aphid pests occurring on crops.Adult hoverflies are beneficial as flower pollinators.Each year in the UK, hoverfly numbers are greatly boosted by migrant flies from further south - they sometimes arrive in exceptional numbers.