• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

The Hoverfly Thread (1 Viewer)

Hi Roger I see you have just joined us so may I welcome you on behalf of all the staff and moderators at Bird Forum.

D
 
Roger Morris said:
No, this is Leucozona lucorum - the scutellum is yellowish and the shape is wrong for C. illustrata

Regards

Roger Morris
Hi Roger, and thanks for putting me right! [Sigh of relief] at last, we have a real expert on the forum!
Although I am gaining knowledge all the time it is obvious [as on this occasion] that I have much to learn. For example I have not knowingly come across a 'dark' L. lucorum before but now it's been pointed out the other features you mention become more obvious.
Best Wishes,
Steve.
 
Hi Roger. Great to have a hoverfly expert among us and thanks for the IDs and corrections.

I photographed V. inanis at Peterborough at the weekend. My first this year.
 

Attachments

  • volucella_inanis_3sep06_420_20a.jpg
    volucella_inanis_3sep06_420_20a.jpg
    22.8 KB · Views: 190
brianhstone said:
Hi Roger. Great to have a hoverfly expert among us and thanks for the IDs and corrections.

I photographed V. inanis at Peterborough at the weekend. My first this year.
Hello Brian,
I found a female V. inanis at a new site in Wilts last week. At the Wilts Wildlife Trust reserve of Ham Hill near the boundary with Hampshire. Unfortunately she wouldn't keep still long enough for me to get a pic. Also one Xanthogramma pedissequum there. It's been a good season for them in Wilts this year.
Cheers,
Steve.
 
Records of Hovers

Hi folks

There are obviously a fair few recorders out there who perhaps get records of a few hovers that might be of use to the Hoverfly Recording Scheme www.hoverfly.org.uk

Do please hold on to details of even common but identifiable stuff with - date, location and grid ref. I'm happy to have a crack at photos and will accept records of species I'm reasonably happy can be ID'd w/o too much experience - may ask for vouchers for some. But, even the assiduous photographer can make a contribution - very neary all of our analysis of Volucella zonaria come from odd snippets of data by interested observers going back 60 years!

Species worth keeping note of that can be ID'd w/o too much difficulty include all Volucella, Epistrophe eligans, Rhingia campestris, - and a fair few more. Some can be useful in understanding climate change as well as distribution changes. Can a few of the gaps on the Volucella maps be filled in?

Hope to hear from you - my e-mail address is roger dot morris at dsl dot pipex dot com.

Regards

Roger
 
That reminds me I had my first R. campestris for the garden the other day. I'll try to remember to record more sightings via the website.

Thanks for the lucorum id. I've only come across this species in spring before.
 
Not many birds around yesterday, so turned my camera on anything that moved in the garden! is this one a Hoverfly?
 

Attachments

  • P10205381.jpg
    P10205381.jpg
    124.2 KB · Views: 191
Yes, it would be quite helpful for me to know how you tell if a fly is a hoverfly or not. I photoed something in the garden the other day (4/9) and then thought that it looked more bee-like.
Ken
 

Attachments

  • poss hoverfly 001.jpg
    poss hoverfly 001.jpg
    89.8 KB · Views: 187
OK, it looks as if the Syrphidae eyes are larger in relation to the head and come closer to meeting each other. The bees often seem to have three prominent occelli.
BTW I came across this URL
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/keith.balmer/BNHS/focuson/hoverflies/html/year.htm
which might be quite useful for anyone in central southern England who wants to know what species to look for in any given month. the hoverfly site gives you the option of printing off a checklist for your post-code... though it's not in a very convenient format. Mine (RH7) ran to six separate web pages.
Would this one (below) be a hoverfly... probably not IDable, it was a fairly medium sized fly.
Most of the hovers I could see in my garden today were quite small and way beyond my photography skills.

Ken
 

Attachments

  • poss hoverfly 007.jpg
    poss hoverfly 007.jpg
    49.6 KB · Views: 167
  • poss hoverfly 008.jpg
    poss hoverfly 008.jpg
    52.7 KB · Views: 194
Last edited:
This one is definitely a hoverfly.
I thought it might be Syrphus ribesii but am far from sure.
Ken
 

Attachments

  • hoverfly 002.jpg
    hoverfly 002.jpg
    58.6 KB · Views: 164
Last edited:
Posts #70 and #72 look like bees to me but it's hard to see for sure. The Surphus sp. can't be done from the photo (unless Roger says it can).
 
Surreybirder said:
This one is definitely a hoverfly.
I thought it might be Syrphus ribesii but am far from sure.
Ken
Hi Ken, #70 and#72 are the 'domestic' honey bee [you can see the 4 wings in one of the shots].
As Brian said, #73 is nigh impossible from the pic but I'd have a stab at S. vitripennis.
Cheers,
Steve.
 
Hi all,
chuffed to bits that I found a 'new' species for me the other day - and a scarce species to boot; Epistrophe diaphana!
Cheers,
Steve.
 

Attachments

  • Epistrophe diaphana[poss]m.SpyePark.15-09-06.jpg
    Epistrophe diaphana[poss]m.SpyePark.15-09-06.jpg
    59.9 KB · Views: 241
This looks to me to be Eristalis tenax - the hind femur and tibia are diagnostic (also front tarsi are dark)

Roger


Tockman said:
Not many birds around yesterday, so turned my camera on anything that moved in the garden! is this one a Hoverfly?
 
This is the hive bee Apis mellifera - you can tell it is a bee because it has two sets of wings (flies have one set and a pair of halteres)

In terms of determining whether a fly is a hoverfly - the one diagnostic character that is critical is the presence of a vena spuria - a kind of false vein that allows the wing to flex up and down (and creates the hovering motion).

Regards

Roger


Surreybirder said:
Yes, it would be quite helpful for me to know how you tell if a fly is a hoverfly or not. I photoed something in the garden the other day (4/9) and then thought that it looked more bee-like.
Ken
 
This I think is Eupeodes latifasciatus but I cannot be entirely certain (vague possibility of E. bucculatus).

Roger

Surreybirder said:
This one is definitely a hoverfly.
I thought it might be Syrphus ribesii but am far from sure.
Ken
 
Warning! This thread is more than 2 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top