About Eriozona syrphoides (Fallén, 1817)
Eriozona syrphoides (Fallén, 1817) is a European species of hoverfly that acts as a large bee mimic. The thorax of this species has black hairs in its middle section, and yellow or reddish hairs along its front and hind margins. Its scutellum ranges in color from white to yellow, and bears yellow hairs. The abdomen has white hairs on its front portion, black hairs in the middle, and red hairs at its tip. A dark patch is present on the wing. This species inhabits forests of Picea and Abies. It is an arboreal species that descends to feed on flowers of white umbellifers, Centaurea, Cirsium, Crataegus, Epilobium, Hypericum, Ranunculus, Sambucus nigra, Sorbus aucuparia, Succisa, and Valeriana. Its distribution range extends from Fennoscandia south to France, occurring in the Vosges, Alps, and Pyrenees regions of France; it also ranges from Ireland eastward through Central Europe and northern Italy into European Russia, the Russian Far East, and continues through Siberia to the Pacific coast. The larva of Eriozona syrphoides feeds on aphids.
