Description

Body length 16 - 25mm. The female is very large and black with the last abdominal segments red and darkened wings. The male has two faint yellowish bands on the thorax.

Habitat

Hedgerows and meadows where it finds its host, the Red-tailed Bumblebee, Bombus lapidarius.

Status and distribution

Common and widespread in the south and east but less common in the west and further north and more or less absent from Scotland. Common in Nottinghamshire and at Netherfield Lagoons.

Best time to see

April to September.