DESCRIPTION: Length up to 12mm.  A largish cuckoo-fly that has a red, black and yellow abdomen and dark red, orange-tipped antennae. Females have a completely black scutum and males dark antennal scapes and dark tibiae. BEHAVIOUR: A parasite of the Mining Bees Andrena clarkella and Andrena apicata. Adults feed on early spring flowers such as Barren Strawberry, Dandelion agg. and Colt's-Foot. DISTRIBUTION: Widely spread in Southern Britain with scattered records reaching the far north of Scotland. HABITAT: Hedgerows, meadows, heaths, moors and woodlands edges. PERIOD: March to May.