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Nature's invitation... — Description

Nature will bear the closest inspection. She invites us to lay our eye level with her smallest leaf,

and take an insect view of its plain. ~ Henry David Thoreau

Episyrphus balteatus, sometimes called the marmalade hoverfly, is a relatively small hoverfly (9–12 mm) of the Syrphidae family, widespread throughout Europe, North Asia, and North Africa. The upper side of the abdomen is patterned with orange and black bands. Two further identification characters are the presence of secondary black bands on the third and fourth dorsal plates and faint greyish longitudinal stripes on the thorax. Its colour patterns may appear wasp-like to other animals, such as birds, protecting it from predation but it is entirely harmless to humans.