Habitat is wetland, fen, river and pond margins. Anthropophilic and occurring where stock is pastured, along polluted ditches and in the vicinity of slurry pits. Flowers visited include white umbellifers, Achillea millefolium, Allium, Armeria maritima, Bellis perennis, Bidens cernua, Caltha, Cochlearia danica, Crataegus, Euphorbia, Galium, Leontodon, Origanum vulgare, Potentilla erecta, Ranunculus, Rosa, Rubus fruticosus, Salix, Senecio jacobaea, Solidago virgaurea, Sorbus aucuparia, Taraxacum, Tussilago, Valeriana dioica. The flight period is mid-April to September (March to October in southern Europe). The larvae are associated with rotting vegetation in a ponds and small water bodies rich in nutrients.