Striped yellow/black hoverfly for ID

[tigger]

Please can anyone help me with this female hoverfly?

I can't see to ID it... even though it's so distinctive!

Cheers. Jane

[squishy]

Looks right for Eupeodes niten or another E. sp.

[tigger]

Hi squishy

Thanks! I'm guessing it's not possible to go to the actual species from a photo?

Cheers. Jane

[squishy]

E. niten looks right, but I know nothing about this genus so I can't really confirm it.

[tigger]

OK, thanks. Hopefully someone else will come along to confirm

Just came to the same conclusion re E niten but will wait and see.

Jane

[Geoff F]

It is Xanthogramma pedissequum female.

[squishy]

Geoff, can I ask what features separate this species? Always want to know where I went wrong

[Geoff F]

Let's start with a bit of general ID.

Check wings for any dark markings and the stigma colour. Scuttellum colour. Leg colour. Any markings on the thorax. Exact shape and length/width of abdomen markings.

By now, the field should be narrowing down considerably.

Also, the fact that E. nitens is a rather uncommon species should be 'ringing alarm bells'.

The greatest difficulty is in separating E. nitens from the rest of the Eupeodes family; and they are a rather tricky bunch.

So check whether the yellow abdomen spots/bands reach the abdomen edge.

Yes definitely with E. corollae. No definitely with E. luniger and E. nielseni.

Which leaves the more difficult decision between E. latifasciatus and E. nitens where, in each case, the yellow is just short of the abdomen edge; although occasionally it may narrowly touch the edge at the top corner only.

Basically E. nitens has a darker front and mid tarsus and the hind femur is yellow.

But I have simplified things slightly and there can be a few intermediate oddities with this family.

Hope this helps a bit.

[tigger]

Many thanks for all your help with this ID

Jane