Identification difficulty = 4.
according to Ball & Morris, 2024[^HKB6B3NI]
This species was separated from Platycheirus splendidus by Rotheray (1998)[^Q8VGIMFU] and from P. aurolateralis by Stubbs (2002)[^72NDFIFY].
The larva preys on a variety of aphid species on low growing plants, bushes and low tree foliage. A species of woodland edge (both coniferous and deciduous) and scrub, including hedgerows, parks and mature gardens. Adults are usually found resting on sun-lit vegetation or visiting a wide range of flowers in clearings, tacksides, etc. It is multiple brooded and has a long flight period.
The following plots show the number of unique records per week that were not reported to be of eggs, larvae or pupae.
It remains a very common species that occurs widely throughout the British Isles but is as yet less well recorded from northerly areas.
The following plots show the Frescalo TFactor vs year and a map of the rescaled frequency (all records) for the species. For an explanation see here.