Lesser hornet hoverfly
Volucella inanis
The lesser hornet hoverfly is a big fly dressed up as a wasp. It has three yellow bands on its black body, so birds think twice before trying to eat it. But it is a harmless hoverfly that visits flowers.
Lives in
Most of Europe, Asia and North Africa
Length
1.5 to 1.7 cm (0.59 to 0.67 in)
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It looks like a wasp, but it is a fly and cannot sting.
What does it eat?
The grown-ups feed on flowers like yarrow, thistles, heather and buddleia. Its larvae live in wasp nests and feed on wasp larvae.
How big is it?
How long is it?
🍚as long as 3 grains of rice in a row⚽could fly across a whole football pitch in 22 seconds⚡moves 280 times its own body length every second
How big is Lesser hornet hoverfly compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
How fast is it?
A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
Lesser hornet hoverfly about 17 km/h (11 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
A car driving in town about 50 km/h (31 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
The mother sneaks into the nests of wasps and hornets to lay her eggs.
2
Its babies live in the wasp nest and feed on the wasp larvae.
3
It has feathery feelers and dark patches on its wings.
4
You can see it from early July to early September.
you asked
Most asked questions about Lesser hornet hoverfly
?Can the lesser hornet hoverfly sting?
No. It only looks like a wasp. It is a harmless fly.
?Where do lesser hornet hoverfly babies live?
Inside the nests of wasps and hornets, where they feed on the wasp larvae.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Volucella inanis
- Group
- Flies and mosquitoes
- Family
- Syrphidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Diptera > Syrphidae
- Lives on
- Europe, Asia, Africa
Where the facts come from
- Volucella inanis (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by gailhampshire from Cradley, Malvern, U.K. CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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