Above
and left: Volucella zonaria - a hoverfly (Female,
14 July 2010)
Sometimes
called the Hornet Mimic Hoverfly, this is a very large
and visually striking fly, and they can be quite intimidating
when they venture indoors. This one had a body length
of 18 mm and its large over-extending wings made it
look much bigger. It is however quite harmless. Its
larvae are ectoparasites on the larvae of social wasps
(though some sources suggest that they predate on
the wasp larvae).
