Epistrophe grossulariae: where has it been for 3 years?
Many species of hoverfly are superficially similar in that they have the abdomen banded with black and yellow. With practice, some of the subtle differences between species can be recognised in the field. One of the easiest to spot is the uncommon Epistrophe grossulariae, its very neat parallel-sided broad yellow bands very distinctive once you know what to look for. It is one of the species whose larvae eats aphids.

Pictures can be found on David Element's website.

The distribution (records from my database only) is shown in the map. Habitat included gardens and hedgerows. I recorded it regularly between 1998 and 2001, in each year, including in my own garden. It was active between 28 June and 31 August. Most records were at Hogweed Heracleum sphondylium (probably the best food plant in Highland for adult hoverflies). Despite increased recording effort in the area in 2002-2004 I did not find a single example of the insect - a bit of a mystery!

In Highland, it is near the northern edge of its UK range, and it is tempting to propose that it may extend farther north in some years than in others, depending on the weather, and if true, it might be a good subject for monitoring the effects of climate change on distribution. For that reason I am interested in acquiring more data on its distribution in the north.
Distribution of Epistrophe grossulariae in N Scotland 1998-2001 (my database only). I did not find it at all in 2002-04. Other records show it occurs to the south of this range, and there are two old records from Sutherland and Orkney.

Map created with DMAP.

 E.gross. map
Records

Records of Epistrophe grossulariae can be reported initially by email giving date, place, six-figure grid reference and any other relevant details. Photographs can be used to confirm identification. Records from the 'missing years' 2002-04 would be especially interesting.
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