Description

Body length 13 to 20mm. The male is black with yellow bands on the abdomen and yellow legs. The female is black with white bands on the antennae, white beside the eyes, a white scutellum, two white spots on the abdomen and orange legs.

Habitat

Woodland edge, hedgerows and lush meadows. The adults feed from umbelliferous flowers and the larvae are endoparasites of various geometrid and noctuid moth larvae.

Status and distribution

Thinly recorded from the south to the Humber in the north, with several records in the Midlands.

Best time to see

June to July.