#3753 · 🪰 flies & mosquitoes

Marmalade Hover Fly

🇳🇱 Snorzweefvlieg ·Episyrphus balteatus

🪰 Flies & mosquitoes 📍 in the Netherlands

8 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

what is it?

Episyrphus balteatus , sometimes called the marmalade hoverfly , is a relatively small hoverfly (9–12 mm) of the Syrphidae family, widespread throughout the Palaearctic region, which covers Europe, North Asia and North Africa. The upper side of the abdomen is patterned with orange and black bands. Two further identification characters are the presence of secondary black bands on the third and fourth dorsal plates and faint greyish longitudinal stripes on the thorax. Its color patterns may appear wasp-like to...

base stats

NL sightings 2,649iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 82,034iNaturalist observations

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).

fun facts

Spotted 2,649 times in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: the #2 most seen of the flies & mosquitoes in NL.
82,034 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
Scientifically named by Charles De Geer in 1776 (250 years ago).