DESCRIPTION: Length up to 15mm.  The head is primarily black with a yellow face and a golden area between the eyes.  The antennae are black and the proboscis is long.  The thorax and scutellum are all black.  The abdomen is black with bright yellow bands and the legs are yellow-brown.  The 2nd and 3rd femurs are pale with an occasional small dark spot.  Females are generally slimmer with a brownish-yellow rounded pouch found under the 5th abdominal segment. BEHAVIOUR: The larvae are parasites of various bumblebees. Adults feed on the nectar and pollen of flowers. DISTRIBUTION: A localised species throughout Britain. HABITAT: Meadows, hedgerows; woodland edges; roadsides or waste ground where umbellifers and ragwort grow. PERIOD: On the wing from June to September.