(figure 16) Xylota tarda is a Palearctic species of hoverfly.

[5][6] External images For terms see Morphology of Diptera Wing length 5·5-8·5 mm.

[8] See references for determination (but see Speight [9] for contradiction)[10][11][12][13] Palearctic Fennoscandia South to Spain.

[14] Old woodland species running on the foliage of bushes and shrubs and on tree stumps and nearby bare ground.

The larva has been found in sap runs at the base of the trunk of Populus tremula and in rotting wood of Fagus.