''Rhingia rostrata'' is a small species of

hoverfly Hover flies, also called flower flies or syrphid flies, make up the insect family Syrphidae. As their common name suggests, they are often seen hovering or nectaring at flowers; the adults of many species feed mainly on nectar and pollen, while ...

, some in length, with a wing span of . It is common in many parts of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

from March until November, though is slightly less common than ''

Rhingia campestris ''Rhingia campestris'' is a species of hoverfly, long, with a wingspan of . It is common across the Palearctic from March until November. It has a broad orange abdomen with a black line along the sides (the black line is absent along the sides o ...

'' in many parts of it range. In

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

it is only found in southern

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It has a broad orange

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the torso. ...

, but lacking the black line along the side of the abdomen as in ''Rhingia campestris''. Also living ''Rhingia rostrata'' has an orange scutellum, though this fades to brown in dead specimens. But it still has the distinctive long snout of all ''

Rhingia ''Rhingia '' is a genus of hoverflies. They all have a very distinctive long snout. The larvae are associated with animal dung. Adults feed on nectar and pollen. Species *'' R. austriaca'' Meigen, 1830 *'' R. borealis'' Ringdahl 1928 *'' R. c ...

'' species.

Larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

e are associated with cow dung. Adults feed on

nectar Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists ...

and

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophyt ...

References

Eristalinae Diptera of Europe Insects described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Syrphidae-stub