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Classification:

Melangyna umbellatarum belongs to the subfamily Syrphinae, tribe Syrphini.

Distribution:

Fennoscandia south to Iberia; from Ireland eastwards through northern, central and southern Europe (Italy, the former Yugoslavia, Roumania, Bulgaria) into European parts of Russia; through mountainous parts of Siberia to Kamchatka; in North America from Alaska to Arizona.

Habitat:

Forest/wetland; beside streams and rivers edged with willows (Salix), along paths and forest edges and other places with high-growing and flowering herbs.

Description:

Body length 8.5 - 12 mm; thorax: shiny metallic, light hairy; abdomen with white (females) or pale yellow (males) spot pairs on tergits 2 - 4; front tibia yellow with black ring; face with black median strip; antennae black; female: forehead with large broad gray dust spots.

Similar species:

Similar rarer species are Melangyna compositarum and Melangyna labiatarum. The males of Melangyna umbellatarum are distinguished from those of the other species by the bald eyes, the females by the larger dust spots on the forehead and the largely yellow fore and mid tibia.

Biology:

Melangyna umbellatarum flies in two generations with peaks in June and August from May to September. The species is to a large extent arboreal and only found on low-growing plants when visiting flowers. The imagines visit the flowers of white umbelliferae (common hogweed, ground elder), meadowsweet, spurge and Sorbus.
The eggs and larvae of Melangyna umbellatarum were found on common hogweed, cow parsley and some other herbs with a wide spectrum of aphids.

References, further reading, links:

1. Pape T. & Thompson F.C. (eds) (2017). Systema Dipterorum (version 2.0, Jan 2011). In: Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life, 2017 Annual Checklist (Roskov Y., Abucay L., Orrell T., Nicolson D., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., DeWalt R.E., Decock W., De Wever A., Nieukerken E. van, Zarucchi J., Penev L., eds.). Digital resource at www.catalogueoflife.org/annual-checklist/2017. Species 2000: Naturalis, Leiden, the Netherlands. ISSN 2405-884X.
2. Gerald Bothe: Bestimmungsschlüssel für die Schwebfliegen (Diptera, Syrphidae) Deutschlands und der Niederlande, DJN, 1984, ISBN 3-923376-07-3
3. 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.
4. 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.