Long Hoverfly; Mosca de las flores esbelta

Male. Small hoverfly (Syrphidae) 6-9 mm long. Copper coloured thorax with yellow side stripes. Scutellum and face are yellow. The abdomen is long with four wide yellow bands. Females are brighter than the males. In the males the last two bands are often blurred. Adults feed of flowers nectar, specially Umbelliferae and Compositae. Larvae feed on aphids. They can complete a full life cycle in as little as sixteen days (egg to egg-laying adult), and a maximum of nine generations may occur in a single year.