Description

Wing length 8.5 - 11mm. The thorax has four buff lines along it on a dark background. The abdomen is mainly orange-yellow with some dark markings. Very similar to H. pendulus, but there is no black dividing line between the orange-yellow of segment two and three in the male. The face has a black central stripe. Females are not so easily distinguished.

Habitat

Ditch and pond margins. The adults stay near to their breeding sites where the larvae develop in the decaying rhizomes of Typhus. 

Status and distribution

A local species throughout Britain. Tends to be found in wetter sites than the other Helophilus species. Fairly common on the reserve.

Best time to see

April to October.