Species details
Epistrophe nitidicollis (Meigen, 1822)
NomenclatureSyrphus nitidicollis Meigen in Coe (1953).
BiologyThe larva feeds on arboreal aphids and has been found on a variety of trees and shrubs including Apple Malus sp., species of Prunus and Elderberry Sambucus nigra. Adults are found in woodland rides and glades where they are usually seen basking on sun-lit foliage, but will visit flowers including white umbels, buttercups Ranunculus sp. and Bramble Rubus sp.
DistributionLocal in the southern half of Britain north to a line between the Mersey and the Humber There are a scatter of Scottish records as far north as the Moray Firth.