5 to 5.5 mm. Orange species with a brown abdomen and with four dark wing markings.

• scutellum hairy with 4 bristles
• anal vein present
• costal margin clear (except for tip)
• abdomen orange/brown
• wings with only 4 dark marks

Meadows, fields of cereal crops and water margins.

Flies hatch in June and July, and will be found in grassland and well wooded areas until late August, then they start to move to cereal fields where they can be found until the end of October.

Larva feed on the stems of grasses and can be a pest of cereals. Especially common in early sown wheat crops by late September and October, where they lay their eggs at the base of the plants. As the larva feeds on the stem's interior tissues this results in stunted growth and in high population times this can cause significant cereal crop damage.

Widespread in England and Wales, fewer records from Scotland.

Common in Leicestershire and Rutland