[3][4][5] [6][7][8] Like many other hoverflies it displays a colouration pattern similar to a stinging insect (a bumblebee in this case) as an evolutionary defense mechanism.

Merodon species are distinguished from these by the very strong hind femora, which bear a large triangular projection on the underside near the tip.

[12] In the Palearctic it is found from Fennoscandia south to Iberia and the Mediterranean basin, and Ireland east through Europe into Russia and Japan.

(see map) [13] They inhabit open areas in deciduous forest up into the subalpine zone but significantly synanthropic, occurring in suburban parks and gardens and on horticultural land.

They visit a large variety of flowers for nectar,[14] while the larvae feed internally in tissues of bulbs of Amaryllidaceae, and they are regarded as a horticultural pest, especially of Narcissus.