Eurasian Drone Fly

Eristalis arbustorum

Eristalis arbustorum, the European drone fly, is an abundant Northern Hemisphere species of syrphid fly, originally officially described by Linnaeus in 1758 as Musca arbustorum. The name "drone fly" is related to its similar appearance to the drone of the honeybee. Hoverflies get their names from the ability to remain nearly motionless while in flight. The adults are also known as flower flies as they are commonly found on and around flowers from which they get both energy-giving nectar and protein rich pollen. The larvae are aquatic filter-feeders of the long-tailed type. Source

Where it is now

In the last 8 weeks this insect was recorded 60 times across 6 areas (each area is a 5 degree square).

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Movement and weather

Over the weeks it was present in the past year, its centre in Europe ranged from 43°N in June to 57°N in July, about 1,500 km apart.

Arrival dates

The week it was first heard regularly in each region, after at least six weeks away. Dates differ from south to north, so a region has a range.

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Figures are effort corrected and come from automatic sound identification, which makes mistakes. How this is measured and how it compares with human observers.