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Classification:

Cheilosia albitarsis belongs to the subfamily Eristalinae, tribe Rhingiini.

Distribution:

Throughout the Palaearctic (including North Africa) except the far north and in North America.

Habitat:

Open ground/forest, agricultural land, forest clearings, montane and subalpine pasture.

Description:

Cheilosia albitarsis has a body length of 7.5 - 9 mm. The wing root is in the female extended brown-yellow tinted and the wing at least half yellowish. The middle subsegments of the forefoot are yellow to dark brown. In the male the middle subsegments of the forefoot are white or yellowish and the coloring of the wing root is less pronounced.
A similar species is the somewhat rarer Cheilosia ranunculi. The two species were separated in 2000 by Doczkal. Especially the females can not be distinguished with certainty from photos.

Biology:

Cheilosia albitarsis flies from April to July and visits white umbellifers, yellow composites, Ajuga, Allium ursinum, Caltha, Crataegus, Matricaria, Potentilla, Ranunculus, Sorbus and Stellaria.

References, further reading, links:

1. Gerald Bothe: Bestimmungsschlüssel für die Schwebfliegen (Diptera, Syrphidae) Deutschlands und der Niederlande, DJN, 1984, ISBN 3-923376-07-3
2. M.C.D.Speight: Species Accounts of European Syrphidae (Diptera), Glasgow 2011, Syrph the Net, the database of European Syrphidae, vol. 65, 285 pp., Syrph the Net publications, Dublin.
3. Menno Reemer, Willem Renema, Wouter van Steenis, Theo Zeegers, Aat Barendregt, John T. Smit, Mark P. van Veen, Jeroen van Steenis, Laurens van der Leij: De Nederlandse Zweefvliegen (Diptera: Syrphidae), Nederlandse Fauna 8, 2009.