Faker

Lesser Hornet Hoverfly (Volucella inanis)

While wandering around the garden the other evening, I found a big hoverfly climbing over the Common Marjoram (Origanum vulgare). Though it was nearly the size of the Hornet Mimic Hoverfly I profiled a few months ago, this one was clearly different, with much more yellow on its distinctively broad abdomen, and a dark brown, rather than chestnut-coloured, thorax (the part of the insect just behind its head). It's a Lesser Hornet Hoverfly (Volucella inanis), another of the UK's larger hoverflies. What looks an out-of-focus photo artefact around its eyes is actually a thick coating of hairs on its eyeballs – and how it can see through such a thicket is beyond me! It also has plumose antennae, which is a fancy way of saying they're branched like feathers rather than hairlike or paddle-shaped, like those of most hoverflies.

Like its larger cousin, the hoverfly mimics a wasp in an attempt to deter predators that might be put off by the possibility of getting stung. From its former stronghold in southern England (particularly around London), it has expanded its range across much of the country in the last 30 years, now reaching as far north as Yorkshire and beginning to edge into Wales. Despite the expansion, however, it's still listed as "infrequent and local" outside of the London area. Like all hoverflies, the adults are nectar feeders. The larvae, however, are predatory; the female lays her eggs in a wasp or hornet nest, and the hatched larvae feed on the wasp or hornet grubs. Adults fly from June to September, but are most common in early August. They're typically found in gardens and along roadside and hedgerows. Elsewhere, they're found across southern Europe and northern Africa.