Is this Rhingia rostrata please?

[Dillybythesea]

This today in the garden. I found a thread from last year where Dogghound said 'R. rostrata has continuous orange sides to the abdomen. In R.campestris the abdomen sides are black in some cases are black lines.' So as long as there aren't any more choices, I'm hoping I'm right! Thanks for any help!

[JRsbugs]

You have got it, the tergites on R. campestris are black on the hind as well as the side margins. The snout on campestris is also a little longer and more curved, your pics show the details nicely.

[Dillybythesea]

Many thanks Janet - and for the extra info - always noted down and appreciated!

[Geoff F]

Just a couple of extra points in case you find another one.

R. rostrata can sometimes have a very narrow band of dark hair around the abdomen edges so don't automatically assume this means R. campestris.

R. campestris normally has a good sized amount of black, but this can be reduced so some confusion is possible.

Another good clue is the leg colour. R. campestris has dense black tibiae while they are orange with R. rostrata. They can be slightly darkened in colour but should be obvious when compared with R. campestris.

Also consider the thorax colour. R. rostrata is a duller black which can often appear slightly bluish. This should be apparent when compared side by side with R. campestris. I have found that comparing two images in adjoining image panes on my monitor usually makes the difference obvious.

R. rostrata numbers can vary a little from year to year but they are generally regarded as an uncommon species so the Hoverfly Recording Scheme would be grateful for the details.

[Dillybythesea]

Many thanks Geoff - that's very kind. I've pasted that into my notes. Thanks too for last year's thread, which gave me the steer in the first place. I have to say I've never seen R. campestris, but I think I read something about cow dung, and I think we're many miles from any of that - it's all arable around here, so perhaps that's it. Thanks again! Rhona