Volucella pellucens

Pellucid hover fly

Its translucent, waist-like abdomen segment gives it its name, and its larvae grow up as scavengers hidden inside the nests of social wasps.

Where	Woodland edges, hedgerows, gardens
Size	13 to 17 mm long
When	May to October

This is a large, broad-bodied hoverfly with a mostly black body and one wide yellow-white band crossing the front of the abdomen. Its wings carry an amber tint along the leading edge and a dark smudge, and held up to the light the middle of the body can look faintly see-through.

Female hoverflies slip into the nests of social wasps to lay their eggs, and the larvae live at the bottom of the nest, scavenging on dead grubs, food scraps and other debris rather than harming the wasps directly. Adults feed only on nectar and pollen, showing a strong liking for white flowers such as bramble and elder.

Traits

Habitat

Garden

Colour

Black, Yellow

Active

Day

To people

Harmless; adults feed only on nectar and pollen

Activity through the year

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Often confused with

Lesser hornet hoverflyOpen entry ›

Volucella inanis

The lesser hornet hoverfly is a similar size but has three yellow bands across an otherwise black abdomen, rather than the pellucid hover fly's single broad band.