Rhingia campestris

Rhingia campestris
male
female
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Diptera
Family:	Syrphidae
Genus:	Rhingia
Species:	R. campestris
Binomial name
Rhingia campestris Meigen, 1822
Synonyms [1]
Musca macrocephala Harris, 1780 Musca nasata Harris, 1780 Musca nosata Harris, 1780 Rhingia macrocephala (Harris, 1780) Rhingia nasata (Harris, 1780) Rhingia nosata (Harris, 1780)

Rhingia campestris is a species of hoverfly, 7–11 millimetres (0.3–0.4 in) long, with a wingspan of 12–18 mm (0.5–0.7 in). It is common in many parts of Europe 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 of Rhingia rostrata), and has the distinctive long snout of all Rhingia species. Rhingia campestris is the main pollinator for many plant species^[2] and due to its long snout it can forage on tubulous flowers. Larvae are associated with cow dung. Adults males feed on nectar, while adult females feed on protein rich pollen, reflecting the cost of developing eggs.

References

1. Stubbs, Alan E. & Falk, Steven J. (1983). British Hoverflies: An Illustrated Identification Guide. British Entomological & Natural History Society. p. 253, xvpp.
2. Van Der Kooi, C. J.; Pen, I.; Staal, M.; Stavenga, D. G.; Elzenga, J. T. M. (2015). "Competition for pollinators and intra-communal spectral dissimilarity of flowers" (PDF). Plant Biology. doi:10.1111/plb.12328.