Hoverflies are both fascinating and baffling! I confess to being a real fan of them and I marvel at their ability to go from nought to gone in a fraction of a second and their ability to hover in a stationary spot before suddenly darting off. The ability of some species to mimic bees, wasps and even hornets and to enter the nests of these host species and lays eggs is a marvel to me.
Despite being very keen on them I find identification very difficult and often they need examination in great detail to a reliable conclusion. Having had experts look at this photograph I can be pretty sure it is of a species called Helophilus hybridus rather than of its close cousin, Helophilus pendulus. It is a female 'hybridus' because over half of the hind tibia are black whereas in 'pendulus' it would be about a third of the hind tibia that is black!
As I said, identifying hoverflies is difficult but that does not mean the amateur naturalist cannot watch them and enjoy their company.
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