Platycheirus albimanus

Platycheirus albimanus is a common widespread species of hoverfly. A holarctic species its range includes Greenland, Iceland, Britain, mainland Europe, Russia, across Siberia to the pacific coast, the Philippines, Alaska, western Canada and United States.^[1]

Platycheirus albimanus
male
female
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Diptera
Family:	Syrphidae
Subfamily:	Syrphinae
Tribe:	Bacchini
Genus:	Platycheirus
Subgenus:	Platycheirus
Species:	P. albimanus
Binomial name
Platycheirus albimanus (Fabricius, 1781)
Synonyms
Platycheirus cyaneus (Walker, 1851) Syrphus albimanus Fabricius 1781) Syrphus cyaneus Walker, 1851

female in flight

Platycheirus albimanus on Tanacetum vulgare (video, 1m 40s)

The larvae feed on aphids on a wide range of plants, shrubs and trees.

Adults can be found in flight generally between April and October on the edges of woodland or scrub, heath or along hedgerows where they visit a wide range of flowers.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7][8]}

Description

External images

external images For terms see Morphology of Diptera
Wing cell bm with a small to rather large bare area (not trichose) Tibiae 1 abruptly dilated shortly before the apex. Metatarsus 1 posterior edge slightly curved. Face in front view, dusted silverish. Tergites with markings silvery or obscure yellow. Extremely similar in appearance to the southern European P. muelleri and the northern European P. nigrofemoratus and P. urakawensis. ^[9]