SeasonalityFlight period of adults May to November, with peak abundance August/September.
IdentificationApproximately 7 to 12 mm in length, black and yellow abdomen with a yellow face. Identification to species is challenging, and specimens may easily be confused with S. ribesii, S. rectus (although their distributions do not overlap), or S. vitripennis. Cell cua1 is entirely covered with tiny hairs (i.e. trichose, see A on image), and cell bm is narrowly trichose along posterior margin (see B on image), in some but not all specimens. A fairly reliable characteristic is that the yellow bands of tergites 3 and 4 either do not quite reach the lateral margins, or only barely reach then anteriorly (see C on image, and compare to other images of Syrphus spp.). Males: The frons is either entirely yellow, or the upper half of it is dark gray and covered with a waxy, whitish powder (i.e. pruinose), with lower half of frons bright yellow. The hind femur is mostly black, with only the apical one-third to one-fifth black. Females: Similar to male, but with upper one-third of frons being a blackish colour, and the hind femur being totally yellow (Vockeroth 1992).