Hoverflies

Hoverflies are some of my favourite insects,their slow drone on a warm day,beautiful colours and aerobatic displays always attract my attention.Their capacity to hover and fly backwards is amazing.They are also good pollinators and devourers of aphids.

These are some of the ones I have seen and identified; 

Platycheirus rosarum

                              Volucella pellucans

Leucozona laternaria

Scavea pyrastia(Hoverfly  at Bennetsbridge)

Sericomyia silentis

 (Helophilus pendulus)(Male) also called the  Sun fly because it like to bask in sunlight.

Leucozona lucorum

Episyrphus balteatus. This one is also called the Marmalade hover fly as it has extra orangy bits ! it is a migrant and I have seen it from Jan-Dec if the weather is mild.

Bumble bee mimic

I have volunteered to do Bumble bee transects and am currently learning to id them .Today what I thought was a small bumble bee ,both by sight and sound ,came near me as I worked.On closer inspection however it turned out to be a Hoverfly Volucella bombylans, a bumble bee mimic.A really beautiful insect that feeds on flowers and hedgerows,the larva scavenge in the nests of bumble bees and wasps.
The female enters the nest to lay her eggs and if discovered and stung by the bees or wasps  lays her eggs immediately by reflex action ,her death not being in vain !

Bottom Dwellers

On 05/04/2011 I was doing my butterfly transect when I  saw movement in the bottom of an open drain. It was a raft spider walking her baby!She had to mind it well  as two pond skaters had their eyes on it and kept making little runs at it.

A newt came into view then moving slowly through the mud as below,

Last year Coillte blocked one end of a drainage pipe ,creating a pond at one side of a bridge ,this area has thousands of tadpoles at the moment.Any of the hundreds that gather where the water overflows the barrier that are swept over face a huge threat, Great diving beetles,the newt,several Sticklebacks and 2 Water Scorpions  are all looking out for a free meal, andtadpole tastes good !

Water scorpion

The stickle backs also had  parasite to avoid 4-5 fish leeches were moving along the mud.

Fish leech can stretch from 25mm to 75mm.

This is a Water measurer ,note the position of the eyes (about half way along what looks like its neck)A strange looking creature for sure.

A hot day in mid March.

Today was 12-14 C around lunchtime, several Small Tortoise butterflies flew around and on a flowering Willow on a sheltered bank plenty of insects were taking advantage of free pollen.3 bee species and 4 fly species made the most of the opportunity.

Queen Bombus terrestris

This bees pollen sacs were full.

Honey bee

This might be Cheilosia grossa a hoverfly.

A Dung fly

A Flesh fly.

The Dock beetle (Gastrophysa viridula) a lot of these were in evidence too,this is a female with a swollen abdomen.

More Signs Of Spring

The lovely warm days recently enticed 6 of the 7 Marsh Fritillary caterpillar groups recorded last September  to come out and bask in the Sun.More info in a post last Oct.

I also saw 3 Bumble bees, my first this year ,nectaring on crocus,mahonia heather and snowdrops.

They have been identified as a Bumble Bee (Bombus Cryptarum) this is a rather enigmatic species and is generally lumped in with B. lucoreum.Some regard the faint S between the neck and wing joint as being diagnostic  although this is darker in northern area records that southern records.

the Eritalis drone fly was also working away.

Things in the Night

I went out after dark tonight and lots of things are starting to move,firstly I met two Dotted border moths on the gable end  of house under the yardlight ,these are fairly common moths with a long flight season from Feb -April .

Dotted Border Moth (Agriopis marginaria )

Then  I saw a 20 plume moth, This is a small moth that can be found all year round

Twenty Plume Moth (Alucita hexadacytla)

Then I went near open water to check for frogs ,none about yet but some water insects were in evidence.

Water Cricket (Velia caprai) This is a water cricket just the one tonight but I have seen small packs of them hunting along the water surface for smaller prey.They seem to work in groups moving along the waters edge at first while others move along the centre driving the prey into the edge for cover and their comrades in waiting.

Water Boatman (Notanecta sp.)

This is a Water Boatman ,which swims on its back,you can just make out the small hairs at its tail that it uses to propel itself through the water.There are several species and can be identified by looking at their backs for colour patterns.

A Diving Beetle larva. ( Don"t know much about his fellow.)

Caddisfly Larva (Glyphotaelius pellucidus)

This is a Caddis fly larva the white threadlike structures are gills that it uses to breathe.Caddisfly larva can be identified by the kind of cases they build to protect themselves.This one is I believe Glyphotaelius pellucidus which makes a case of fallen leaves.

This was the suprise of the night, this catterpillar was head down about 150mm (6") under water,catterpillars seemingly don"t know how to reverse out of trouble,but some also can live under water like the Brown china mark.I havn"t id ed this yet but will update when I do.

Moths again!

The rain has brought a rise in temperature, and the moths are back after a long break,the December moth only lasted 3 days this season due to the cold spell,hopefully it will recover in the next few seasons.

Pale Brindled Beauty (Phigalia pilosaria) 06/02/2010

The Winter moths are back in small numbers and have been joined last night by the Pale Brindled Beauty  (Phigalia pilosaria) this is one of the bigger moths flying at the moment,and with its mottled colouring and bi-pectate antennae is easy to identify.