Waisted Duckfly

Anasimyia contracta

Description

Wing length 5 - 7.5mm. An unusually marked hoverfly with a black abdomen, with white, club-shaped markings, and a dark brown thorax with buff, longitudinal stripes.

Habitat

Bogs, ditches and pond edges where there are plenty of emergent plants, particularly Typhus. The larvae develop in the leaf sheaths, often below the water.

Status and distribution

Fairly common in England and Wales but much less common in Scotland, and absent from the north. Fairly common on the reserve.

Best time to see

May to September.

  • Waisted Duckfly - Anasimyia contracta - female - July 20th 2012

  • Waisted Duckfly - Anasimyia contracta - female - June 14th 2016

  • Waisted Duckfly - Anasimyia contracta - female - June 14th 2016

  • Waisted Duckfly - Anasimyia contracta - male - July 9th 2014

  • Waisted Duckfly - Anasimyia contracta - male - July 9th 2014

  • Waisted Duckfly - Anasimyia contracta - female - July 20th 2012

  • Waisted Duckfly - Anasimyia contracta - male - May 28th 2017

  • Waisted Duckfly - Anasimyia contracta - male - June 17th 2014

  • Waisted Duckfly - Anasimyia contracta - male - July 11th 2020

  • Waisted Duckfly - Anasimyia contracta - male - July 11th 2020