Syrphin

Spent some time in the garden early this morning, too early for any real activity - just enjoying the relative peace, birdsong, morning warmth and plenty of coffee. I wasn't enjoying the largely empty moth trap. One of the Blackcaps showed itself a little better, and I saw a female in the garden which was nice.

I could hear a Skylark singing, and a very distant snatch of Lesser Whitethroat - I think the days of this being annual on the embankment are now over as it is probably too densely shrubbed over now. It sounded not far away, just beyond the end of the embankment where it turns to hedgerow along the field edges.

Early this afternoon, with left foot big toe much more flexible and much less painful than of late, I headed of for my first walk in over two weeks. I headed back to the disused railway line and I've got a few bits from the outing to share over future posts. Today though, I'll focus on the main activity in the garden yesterday with a couple of bits from today thrown in as they fit the topic - Syrphinae.

Having got completely fed up with the Eristalis pertinax disturbing anything, but having also noted a few smaller hoverflies in the garden, I decided it was time to swish the net and try to get them sorted. I'm not used to fondling hoverflies and clearly need more practice as getting hold of them was certainly not a refined and honed process - however all were released unharmed. Getting one-handed shots whilst hand-rangling diptera is also an art that I need to perfect. Turned out they're all female, I guess the males were too busy to be fanny about flying in sunshine.

First up, one that really should be exciting but again (having had one last year) a sense-check on the UK Hoverflies facebook group says sp. only. These clearly just need lumping ....

Female Pipiza sp.

Legs not yellow enough for P. luteitarsis, so probably P. noctiluca sl, but might not be ...

Female Eupeodes sp.

Another bugger, as markings not quite right for either E. luniger or E. corollae

 The rest were more straightforward ....

Female Melanostoma scalare

 Female Platycheirus albimanus

Grey spots on abdomen, extensively yellow legs

Female Rhingia campestris

Black edging to tergites

The following are all from the walk today ... same method, same clumsy handling ...

Female Leucozona lucorum

 

Female Helophilus pendulus

Female Syrphus ribesii

Note the hind femur is largely yellow except the base

Flying Briefly

Got stuck into the decorating today. We'd bought paint a few weeks before the lockdown in anticipation, as it was going to get done sometime this year whatever happened. I'm not much of a self-starter though when it comes to any decorating, but once the prep is done I'm fine with the painting. No time for fannying about looking up to the skies for flyover bird ticks or flouncing about the garden with a camera .....

I'm fibbing. Every coffee break (and I made sure there were several!) was spent in the garden enjoying the sunshine, listening to the Blackcap sing itself stupid and watching the odd Buzzard drift over. Later in the afternoon, I spent 20 mins or so stood in front of a sunlit lilac bush where various flies seemed to be alighting on the leaves to bask in the warm glow. Trying to get shots is not easy when the subject is in full sun, warmed up and fully aware of the slightest movement. Most shots were one handed and reaching at an odd angle, so getting anything was an achievement. The following were the best efforts.

Epistrophe eligans

The first time one has settled, several have been buzzing around at head-height for a few days

Melanostoma scalare

A washed-out shot of a Yellow Dung Fly

And I think this is Eudasyphora cyanella

And a quick look at the front garden revealed another 'weed' that I'd not noticed ...

... which I'm sure is Ivy-leaved Speedwell

The garden moth trap is having a break whilst the nights are cool, I'll re-start that tomorrow night when it should start warming up a little overnight. In the meantime my lockdown hairgrowth is starting to get annoying, and I can feel a hack job coming on at the weekend using my hopelessly inadequate beard-trimmer. My lockdown alcohol intake is growing at a similar rate, and some weight-loss gains earlier in the year are in reverse. Feels like I'm going feral.