Close-Up, Side Detail of a Drone Hover Fly (Eristalis tenax) Feeding on a Bramble or Blackberry Flower (Rubus fruticosus agg.) a Sunny Day in Summer


Close-up detail of a Common Drone Hoverfly (Eristalis tenax) feeding on a Bramble or Blackberry Flower (Rubus fruticosus agg.) on a sunny day in summer. Good overall body detail. This is a common hover fly species found in gardens, meadows and hedgerows throughout the British Isles. It is called a Drone hover fly because it mimics the drone, or male, bee. This is a very beneficial insect as the adults feed on nectar, pollinating a wide range of plants as they do so. The larva is known as a ‘rat-tailed maggot’ because of its’ long telescopic breathing tube.


Size: 6000px × 4000px
Location: Great Torrington, Devon, England, Europe
Photo credit: © John Insull / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No

Keywords: abdomen, action, agg., animal, beauty, behaviour, biosphere, blackberry, bramble, chain, chitin, close-, colour, common, compound, conservation, cycle, detail, devon, diptera, drink, drone, ecology, eristalis, exoskeleton, eye, feed, flower, food, fruit, fruticosus, garden, hair, head, hoverfly, insect, invertebrate, life, macro, nature, nectar, north, pattern, pollination, resting, rubus, single, structure, study, syrphidae, tenax, thorax, wings