Hoverfly

This is a large Eristalis resembling a robust E. pertinax but with the tarsi almost entirely dark. The females also give the impression of being 'bigger-headed' than pertinax. Males are as robust as E. tenax (which has entirely dark hind tibiae and bands of dark hairs down the eyes), never with the triangular, pointed abdomen of pertinax. This is a common species of southern Europe but has been spreading north in recent decades, and is prone to eruptive movements. Like Eristalis tenax, the larva of E. similis is a rat-tailed maggot and lives in drainage ditches, pools around manure piles, sewage, and similar places containing water badly polluted with organic matter.