Eristalinus aeneus

[stuart]

Eristalinus aeneus (Scopoli, 1763)

Identification ease/difficulty: 2

Sources of information

• Page 192, Pl. 11, fig 9 in Stubbs & Falk (1983)
• Map here and page 60 in Ball & Morris (2000)
• Page 287, Pl. 11, fig. 9 in Stubbs & Falk (2002)

[stuart]

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

Eristalinus aeneus (Scopoli, 1763) Eristalis aeneus Scopoli in Coe (1953)

Biology: This is a coastal species in Britain. The larvae are of the ‘long-tailed’, aquatic type, and live in brackish pools and rock-pools where decaying seaweed accumulates. Adults are often found basking on bare areas or rocks on paths and banks, or visiting flowers such as Senecio, rarely more than a few tens of metres from the high-tide mark. It overwinters as an adult

Distribution: This species occurs widely around the coast of Britain on both rocky shores and in saltmarsh. It can be abundant at some localities. According to Speight (1998), although coastal in the northern part of its range, it occurs inland further south in Europe and is distinctly anthropogenic - breeding in sewage farms or in association with animal dung