The Chinooks of the hoverfly world

26 Sunday Aug 2018

Tags

British hoverflies, Great pied hoverfly, Hornet mimic, hoverflies, hoverfly, Penarth Rail Trail, Volucella pellucens, Volucella species, Volucella zonaria

These are a couple of the Volucella species, the Chinooks of the hoverfly world and, if you live in the southern parts of Britain, they’ll be out there hovering along woodland paths and in local parks near you right now. Before you panic and get out your fly swat, these hoverflies may look a little menacing – and some of them even look a bit like Hornets – but, please rest assured, they are all completely harmless. And, if you take a little time for a closer look, you will soon see what incredibly handsome mini-beasties they are.

180826 Volucella zonaria (4)

With a wing length between 15 and 20mm, Volucella zonaria is the largest British hoverfly and is sometimes known as the Hornet mimic. (There is a very similar species called Volucella inanis but we don’t see them very often in south Wales.) Since arriving in Britain, on England’s south coast, in the 1930s, V. zonaria has made itself at home and has spread west and northwards. During July and August, I’ve seen several of these beauties at Lavernock Nature Reserve and along our local rail trail, a former railway line now a tree-lined foot- and cycling path.

180826 Volucella pellucens (1)

With its large size and black-and-white colouring, Volucella pellucens is a very distinctive hoverfly and easy to identify. You can see why it’s also known as the Great Pied hoverfly. When it’s not feasting on pollen and nectar, it can often be found defending its airspace by hovering around head height along paths and trails. If you stand still, it will sometimes approach to check you out but, once again, it will do you absolutely no harm and move out of your way when you carry on walking.

A little hoverating

13 Thursday Jul 2017

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

British hoverflies, hoverflies, hoverfly, Leucozona glaucia, Leucozona laternaria, Merodon equestris, Xylota segnis, Xylota sylvarum

I admit to not taking as many photos of hoverflies this year as last. This is partly due to an overwhelming fascination with everything, meaning I tend not to focus on one family for long (I’m sure this will pass once I’ve lived in Britain a few more years and have seen a lot of the more common species of everything), but also because the area where I now live has less hoverfly-friendly habitats. Still, I do photograph them when I see them, especially any newbies. Here are a few …

Leucozona glaucia and Leucozona laternaria
These are not hoverflies I see very often but they are quite distinctive and that makes them easy to identify, not something you can say about many invertebrates. They’re woodland species but can often be found grazing on the hogweed flowers that frequently grow along woodland rides and edges. The two species are almost identical, except for the colour of their front legs (not always easily seen) and their scutellum (much easier – that’s the half moon shaped bit on their backs between their wings). The scutellum is yellow in Leucozona glaucia (above left) and dark in L. laternaria (above right).

170713 Merodon equestris

Merodon equestris
This medium-sized hoverfly looks a lot like a bumblebee, but the shape of its head and its large eyes are easy ways to tell that it’s not. In their top-notch field guide Britain’s Hoverflies, Stuart Ball and Roger Morris note that Merodon equestris is ‘believed to have been introduced into Britain in daffodil bulbs imported from Europe around the end of the 19th century’. That’s because the larvae of this hoverfly develop inside bulbs and have a particular liking for daffodils.

Xylota segnis and Xylota sylvarum
These are just two of the seven members of the Xylota genus – I have yet to see the others. With their lanky legs, they look a bit like sawflies and they also prefer gathering pollen and honeydew from leaves rather than flowers, so they’re not your run-of-the-mill hoverflies. I find these quite difficult to tell apart but X. segnis has a black bottom (above left) whereas X. sylvarum’s is yellow (above right) (not easy to see when they’re resting and covering their bottoms with their wings, as in my photo).