Volucella zonaria feeding on a raspberry
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Volucella zonaria feeding on a raspberry by Jonathan Billinger as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
Volucella zonaria feeding on a raspberry
Image: © Jonathan Billinger Taken: 5 Aug 2025
According to Herefordshire Wildlife Trust and Buglife, this impressive and harmless hoverfly is an important pollinator and is becoming more common as the species spreads north with climate change. The Hornet Mimic Hoverfly is mainly orangey-yellow on the abdomen, with dark bands and a dark brown thorax. It is our largest hoverfly. It can be distinguished from the hornet by its much larger eyes, broader body and the lack of a sting.
Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Image Location
Latitude
51.90083
Longitude
-2.588438