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.