Surreybirder
Ken Noble
Thanks, Roger,Roger Morris said:
I'll have to try and get better photos! (Not easy with an autofocus camera)
Ken
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The Hoverfly Thread (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter Brian Stone
- Start date
I'll have to try and get better photos! (Not easy with an autofocus camera)
Ken
Surreybirder
Ken Noble
paul mabbott
Urban space man
I'm glad to see the return of the 'hoverfly thread' - was beginning to think they had become extinct. I've seen very few hoverflies this year other than a *few* Eristalis last month. Is this a general thing in UK or just my neck of the woods?
Couldn't the thread be made a sticky?
Couldn't the thread be made a sticky?
Mis
Well-known member
I've seen several species recently but I'm still trying to get to grips with hoverflies so I'm not too sure what they were. I saw Rhingia campestris several days ago but most are unidentifieds for now!
It would be useful if this was a sticky. I hadn't realised there was a hoverfly thread and would have posted some of my photos here.
It would be useful if this was a sticky. I hadn't realised there was a hoverfly thread and would have posted some of my photos here.
Surreybirder
Ken Noble
I've not seen many hoverflies, Paul, although the marmalade fly has been around for a while. Also some really small ones that I think are virtually impossible to ID from photos (because the hide under their wings when they are stationary).
How does one go about making a thread into a sticky?
Ken
How does one go about making a thread into a sticky?
Ken
paul mabbott
Urban space man
We could ask that nice Andy Bright who provided the ladybird thread .. but I've forgotten how to do it .... does everyone shout, "Andy ...."?
It will all come back ....
It will all come back ....
Surreybirder
Ken Noble
Coming back to my hoverfly 
I think it might be a male Syrphus ribesii which is said to be 'among the most familiar of hoverflies throughout Britain... often being found in gardens'.
Ken
I think it might be a male Syrphus ribesii which is said to be 'among the most familiar of hoverflies throughout Britain... often being found in gardens'.Ken
Last edited:
Imaginos
Well-known member
Coming back to my hoverfly
Ken
...or S. vitripennis the difference between the males is that vitripennis has black hairs on the hind femora and microtrichia (tiny hairs) on the basal cells of the wing. Can't see enough to be sure that either character is absent I'm afraid. Both species are rather common.
Surreybirder
Ken Noble
That neatly sums up why I don't do many hoverfly IDs!
But thanks for your input Imaginos. At least I know what genus it belongs to.
Ken
Imaginos
Well-known member
Alan Stubb's 'British Hoverflies' makes the identification as painless as possible-look out for it, the keys & plates are good & the descriptions take into account similar species so you needn't key them out if you don't want to & can go by the traditional method of looking at the pictures.
Surreybirder
Ken Noble
Believe it or not, I already have it... that's how I worked out that it was a Syrphus. (I looked at the pix
)Ken
Surreybirder
Ken Noble
There seem to be lots of hoverflies in our garden now, mainly quite small ones. I don't seem to have much success at photographing them. The two I got are, I think, another Syrphus (probably not determinable) and one which I don't think is a hoverfly at all - I seem to remember that it's some sort of parasitic fly. Any ID help would be appreciated.
Ken
Ken
Attachments
Brian Stone
A Stone chatting
Some good pics Ken. Most hovers are hard from photos and I think recent splits in the Syrphus genus makes them virtually impossible to assign to anything other than an agg.
Try to get lateral as well as dorsal shots and ensure the legs are clearly shown. Also get a shot head on as the face pattern can be important.
Mark van Veen has published several keys on the web and his book is worth a look too:
http://home.hccnet.nl/mp.van.veen/fe_ento.html
Look at the species lisings on the Hoverfly Recording Scheme's website to get a score to indicate how difficult each species is to ID:
http://www.hoverfly.org.uk/
I've seen plenty of hovers in favoured areas so far this year including R. campestris, L. lucorum, H. pendulus and trittivatus, E. luniger, Syrphus and Eristalis spp. as well as the difficult smaller species.
Try to get lateral as well as dorsal shots and ensure the legs are clearly shown. Also get a shot head on as the face pattern can be important.
Mark van Veen has published several keys on the web and his book is worth a look too:
http://home.hccnet.nl/mp.van.veen/fe_ento.html
Look at the species lisings on the Hoverfly Recording Scheme's website to get a score to indicate how difficult each species is to ID:
http://www.hoverfly.org.uk/
I've seen plenty of hovers in favoured areas so far this year including R. campestris, L. lucorum, H. pendulus and trittivatus, E. luniger, Syrphus and Eristalis spp. as well as the difficult smaller species.
Brian Stone
A Stone chatting
paul mabbott
Urban space man
Saw my first local E. balteatus yesterday - which is seriously late, still very few other species despite the spell of warm weather.
Brian Stone
A Stone chatting
I think my first this year were on 15 Apr but they have been generally rather thin on the ground so far. Good numbers of species were out on 30 Apr but on the whole it's been quite poor.
Brian Stone
A Stone chatting
Surreybirder
Ken Noble
Brian Stone
A Stone chatting
It's a Sphaerophoria sp. and these are supposed to be really hard, especially as that's a female. Would be surprised if it wasn't scripta though.
Surreybirder
Ken Noble
thanks, Brian. I hope to ID one to species level (apart from marmalade fly) one of these days!
Ken
Ken
