| Chrysotoxum festivum (Linnaeus, 1758) |
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Scientific name: Chrysotoxum festivum (Linnaeus, 1758) Common name: French name: Order: Diptera Family: Syrphidae Wingspan : 12-14 mm. Biotope: Deciduous forests clearings and edges, places with high grasses and sparse bushes. Adults are often observed on Umbellifer or Thistle flowers. Geographic area: Palearctic region, from Ireland to eastern Siberia, from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean Basin. Observation period : May to September with a peak in August. |
The hoverflies of the Chrysotoxum genus are characterized by their large size, their black and yellow colour and their relatively long and black antennae. There are 20 species listed as present in Europe. Chrysotoxum festivum shows a third antennal article which is shorter than article 1 and article 2 together. The cross yellow stripes are all about the same width and interrupted at the middle. They ornate tergites 2 to tergites 5 and do not extend to the abdomen margin where you can see a thin black border. Antennal articles 1 and 2 are about the same length. Femurs 1and 2 are yellow. The wings are marked with a small black spot and the katepisternum (ventral plate on the second segment of the thorax, located just ahead of the insertion of the second pair of legs) is marked with a yellow spot. |
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My picture is not perfectly sharp but I think that you can see all the criteria allowing the identification of the Chrysotoxum festivum species. I think that the katepisternum matches the small yellow spot located at the bottom of the lateral side of the thorax. |
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Upper side view. |
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Front view. |
André Bon August 2017