Over the past two years we have been noticing a new visitor to the area – the rather splendid hornet mimic hoverfly (Volucella zonaria). This is the UK’s largest hoverfly at almost 2cm long, and, as its name suggests, it is an excellent mimic of the hornet, but unlike the hornett is harmless to humans. Only a very rare visitor to the country up to the 1940s, it has become more common in Southern England in recent years, and is still spreading northwards, perhaps as a result of climate change. It is particularly prevalent in urban areas. The adults are migratory and the larvae live inside wasps’ nests. WNS member Alan Crawford found this one in his Wrenthorpe garden and previously, they have previously been seen in Ryhill.
