Syritta pipiens

[stuart]

Syritta pipiens (Linnaeus, 1758)

Identification ease/difficulty: 1

Sources of information

• Page 223, Pl. 10, fig 8 in Stubbs & Falk (1983)
• Larval plate Pl. 11e in Rotheray (1993)
• Map here and page 140 in Ball & Morris (2000)
• Page 332, Pl. 10, fig. 8 in Stubbs & Falk (2002)

Pictures:

[stuart]

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

Syritta pipiens (Linnaeus, 1758)

Biology: The larvae are found, often in large numbers, in wet decaying organic matter including compost heaps, manure heaps, cow dung and silage, but not in pools and ponds. A ubiquitous species in lowland areas including anthropogenic habitats such as farmland, parks and gardens. Usually found flying low down amongst the vegetation or visiting flowers. It is very prominent at the end of the season when large numbers visit ivy flowers. Males patrol around flowers, manoeuvring slowly and with great agility, and engage in confrontations, where two males hover head to head, with one hovering backwards as the other approaches. It is not clear how the contest is decided, but one suddenly darts away whilst the other resumes patrolling.

Distribution: Widely distributed and very common throughout lowland Britain, but scarcer in upland areas and the more remote parts of Scotland