Now, for those on Facebook, there is a group gathering information about the various colour forms of this pest and seeking reports of sightings.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/933733623318180/Merodon equestris UK recording group
Natalina Bonassera
"The main aim of this group is to record Merodon equestris sightings to build a picture of its colour form variation in the UK.
Merodon equestris is a polymorphic hoverfly known to have at least 34 different colour forms.
The data gathered from this group will be used in an MSc thesis aiming to shed light on where Merodon equestris is most frequently seen, its emergence times, and geographical spread of colour forms across different areas and habitats in the UK.
I would be very grateful if photos of any sightings of Merodon equestris in the UK could be posted on this group. Please include a photo, date, location, details of habitat type (urban park, garden, meadow, woodland ect.) and grid reference. If you are unsure of what your grid reference is then here is a link to a helpful web site called grid reference finder, where you can find your grid reference
http://www.gridreferencefinder.com/.This group is open to anyone, whether novice or expert. Here is a link to Steven Falk's photo album of Merodon equestris on Flickr to give you an idea of what this species looks like
https://www.flickr.com/…/63075200@N…/sets/72157629553247540/.
All the records posted on this group will be passed on to the Hoverfly Recording Scheme.
Please join this group, add friends and share it with anyone who records or has an interest in hoverflies!
Thank you! "
