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Gerard posted a message on the Syrphidae mailing list with a number of images I had prepared for him. Here you can see them online as well as the text from the message.

If you want to reply, you have to be registered on this site.

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Dear all,
Thank you for your reactions so far.
With the help of Christian Thompson (Thanks Christian) I found out that the specimen from the Greek mountains is more likely to be Palumbia sp. than Pterallastes sp. The most likely candidat seems to be Palumbia eristaloides Portschinsky, that also occurs in Turkey and the Balcan.

To be certain of its identity I have put some digital pictures (made by Paul Beuk, thanks Paul) on the web:

Specimen in dorsal view:

(a larger, unedited image here http://home.tisca...0_0479.JPG

Specimen in lateral view:

(a larger, unedited image here http://home.tisca...0_0483.JPG

Wing:

(a larger, unedited image here http://home.tisca...0_0482.JPG

Head in lateral view:

(a larger, unedited image here http://home.tisca...0_0484.JPG

Head in anterior view:

(a larger, unedited image here http://home.tisca...0_0487.JPG

The larger, unedited images may run off the screen (depending on the fact whether your browser resizes images that are too large to fit on the screen. In that case you will need to use the scroll bars to go to the parts you want to see.

I would be grateful for any comments about the identity, hopefully the
pictures are clear enough.

Greetings,

Gerard Pennards

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Dear all,
After receiving a paper from Christian Thompson, it is quite sure that this female specimen is a Palumbia bellieri!
That is exciting, because until now P. bellieri was only known (and seen as an endemic) from Sicily!
So, great new catch I would say! :)