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Classification:

Eupeodes luniger belongs to the subfamily Syrphinae, tribe Syrphini.

Distribution:

From Fennoscandia south to Iberia, the Mediterranean, Madeira and North Africa; from Ireland eastwards through most of Europe into European parts of Russia and Asia Minor (including Turkey); in Siberia from the Urals to the Pacific coast (Kuril Isles); Japan; North India.

Habitat:

Open ground/forest: forest edges and clearings, parks, gardens, farmland, meadows up to altitudes of 2000 m.

Description:

Eupeodes luniger has a body length of 9 - 12 mm. The thorax is brown, the scutellum is yellowish at the base and almost completely black haired. On the abdomen there are 3 pairs of yellow spots. The curved pairs of spots on segments 3 and 4 do not reach the lateral seam and may have a narrow connection in the middle. The face has a narrow black middle strip. The eyes are hairless. In the female, the forehead is black above, followed by a y-shaped drawing on yellowish background.

Biology:

Eupeodes luniger flies in several generations from April to November with peaks in May/June and in August (in southern Europe also in March). The species overwinters in Central Europe as an imago or as a puparium. During the summer, the population in large parts of Europe is being reinforced by immigrants from the south.
The adults visit the flowers of white umbelliferous plants, heather, dandelion, crab apple, buttercup and other plants. The mating takes place in the air and takes only 1 - 2 seconds (Schneider 1968).
The larvae of Eupeodes luniger eat aphids from various herbs, shrubs and trees (such as common nettle, elderberry, sweet cherry).

Annotation:

The species is found in the older literature under the name Metasyrphus luniger.

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.