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The Hoverfly Thread (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Brian Stone
- Start date
Ficedula
velico ergo sum
Sphaerophoria sp females not identifiable
Ficedula
velico ergo sum
Syrphus sp.
Andrew
wibble wibble
Thanks ever so much. Pity it can not be pinpointed to a species but thanks for giving me a lead to look into.
Regards,
Andrew.
robhope
Well-known member
Thank you for the confirmations and ID Ficedula. It seems that the Eristalis genus it tricky to ID to species level.
robhope
Egrets, I've had a few
Gavia_immer
Loony the Loon
Thanks a lot for the confirmation, Ficedula!
A few more for confirmation, while I prepare pictures of the ones that are more difficult for me. Hope I got these right (if I don't, I'd better give up hoverflies :-O):
1. Volucella pelluscens
2. Helophilus pendulus
3. Myathropa florea
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Gavia_immer
Loony the Loon
Hey, robhope! Tricky indeed, I have seen many Eristalis sp. during the summer, both in Spain and England and I don't have a single species in my lifelist. Simply I am not 100% sure of any of them. Hope one day I will learn to ID them and take better pictures where the best features can be seen. But I am totally aware that several species are nearly impossible to ID from a picture.
I fear the moment I start sorting out the pictures of Eristalis taking in England during the holiday :eek!:
All look good to me!
Ficedula
velico ergo sum
all correct
Ficedula
velico ergo sum
If you know them then it is quite easy to identify them if you catch them and examine with hand lens. However, getting to know them really means collecting and keying them under a microscope.
Only E. pertinax and tenax can reliably be named from photographs, if those photos are good enough.
Gavia_immer
Loony the Loon
Thanks for your input, Ficedula! That is not good news for me as I doubt I will ever collect hoverflies to examin them under a microscope :-C
Well, my next pictures are of something that most likely will remain unidentified. Looks like Eristalis but the body looks longish compared to the idea I have of an Eristalis. The front legs look pale. Perhaps Eristalis pertinax? Or some other genus? I am pretty lost with this group.
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Ficedula
velico ergo sum
Why not? thats like looking at birds but never buying a pair of bins.
However, if your latest photos were British they could safely be named Eristalis pertinax. Of the 11 species known from Spain this can only be pertinax but considering that the Spanish list is only one greater than the GB list (and three fewer than the Dutch list) there must several overlooked species still to be found in Spain. Realistically, there are very few insect groups that are sufficiently well documented in Spain for any photos to be named with complete confidence. There must be thousands of species lurking in the country as yet unknown to science let alone as yet to be added to the Spanish list.
Gavia_immer
Loony the Loon
:-O :-O :-O That remark made me laugh as I see your point! The only trouble is that I believe one has to kill the hoverfly to examine it under a microscope and I don't have the guts to do it. The punishment for my cowardice is not being able to know for sure what I find out there :-O
Yes, all the pictures I am posting during this week (and the following days too) were all taken in England during my holidays. I certainly made the most of my time in England! :king: At least there is good bibliography (and experienced people here
t: ) about British Hoverflies. My aim is to learn to ID the common English ones properly and use that basis to get an idea of the Spanish ones. I understand the difficulty about Hoverflies in my country.Well, a couple more for confirmation. Sorry I am only learning slowly, but I am on my way. I want to make sure I really recognize some distinctive species I found.
1. Leucozona glauca
2. Myathropa florea female
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Gavia_immer
Loony the Loon
Thank you, Aeshna!!
And now one for confirmation and one for ID. The first one I think it is Melascaeva cinctella. I am lost with the second one. I saw the specimen and had time to take 2 pictures, one so out of focus that went directly to the bin and this one. Then it flew away and couldn't find it again. No idea about the upperside pattern. But it looks rather distinctive (wishful thinking? :-O) so I decided to post it.
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Ficedula
velico ergo sum
Always give locality for all photos, all my previous dets make the assumption that they were taken in Spain.Makes identification much less complex.
Melascaeva cinctella. yes
second must be Myathropa florea, a particularly bright individual.
Gavia_immer
Loony the Loon
That Myathropa florea completely fooled me!! :eek!:
Well, here comes another set of pictures. The first two show an Eristalis taken in a garden in Nottingham (hint got, Ficedula!
:-O) and I think it might be Eristalis tenax. The third one was taken in a meadow near Bewdly, in the Midlands. When I took the picture I thought it would be a Syrphus but I think it is too slim and probably is something else. The fourth one was taken in the same meadow and I think is Scaeva selenitica. The pale bands look too yellowish for Scaeva pyrastri to me.Thanks in advance once more!!
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ta brandreth
Well-known member
Ficedula
velico ergo sum
That Myathropa florea completely fooled me!! :eek!:
Well, here comes another set of pictures. The first two show an Eristalis taken in a garden in Nottingham (hint got, Ficedula!
Thanks in advance once more!!
i agree
