Episyrphus balteatus ❄️🌳🌸
A little air acrobat 
It’s a little Diptera 
from the Syrphid family. It is completely harmless and has the shape of a fly but, like most of the Syrphids, it imitates the much more dangerous wasps as a defense strategy. In fact, the abdomen is orange with narrow black bands.
from the Syrphid family. It is completely harmless and has the shape of a fly but, like most of the Syrphids, it imitates the much more dangerous wasps as a defense strategy. In fact, the abdomen is orange with narrow black bands.Episyrphus adults feed on nectar and pollen grains which they crush with their front legs. Thus they promote the pollination of many plants 
The larvae, on the other hand, are predators of aphids and caterpillars: they devour up to 200 of them during development!
Sometimes the adults make mass migrations in search of flowering areas, and can scare people because they resemble wasps…
Did you know? 
Like other syrphids, Episyrphus balteatus is also an aerial acrobat: it can move in all directions, even backwards, and remain motionless in mid-air even when there is wind!
Photo Pixabay.
