Diptera

Syrphidae

Eristalinus sepulchralis

Eristalinus sepulchralis - Cheshire, England - August 2008

Eristalinus sepulchralis is one of only 2 species of British hoverflies that have spotty eyes.  Both are quite similar and are separated by the extent of the hairs on their eyes: E. aeneus has hairs only on the upper part of the eyes whereas on E. sepulchralis the hairs extend well beyond halfway down.  E. sepulchralis is more likely to be found in inland locations than E. aeneus, which is a predominantly coastal species.