Platycheirus scambus

[stuart]

Platycheirus scambus (Staeger, 1843)

Identification ease/difficulty: 3

Sources of information

• Page 124, Pl. A, fig 14; Pl. 1, fig 21 in Stubbs & Falk (1983)
• Map here and page 123 in Ball & Morris (2000)
• Page 182, Pl. R, fig. 14; Pl. 1, fig. 21 in Stubbs & Falk (2002)

[stuart]

Species account from Provisional atlas of British hoverflies, Ball & Morris, 2000.

Platycheirus scambus (Staeger, 1843)

Biology: The larvae feed on aphids within the ground layer. Found in damp grassland including saltmarsh, poor fen and the fringes of marshes, often where there is some shelter from trees or scrub. Adults fly amongst stands of tall vegetation and are rarely found far from the edges of water. They will visit a wide range of flowers and males hover near flowering shrubs, such as Salix, near water

Distribution: Locally abundant in Scotland and northern England, and more widespread than was thought in the south, including the Midlands, west Wales and south-west England. Records from southern England need careful scrutiny as misidentification is possible