On the evening of 28th June, I found a female Volucella zonaria resting on ivy leaves. This is one of our most impressive and I think our largest hoverfly species and one that I have recorded in the garden annually for some years. It is a hornet mimic and uses hornet nests to raise its offspring - there are certainly plenty of hornets in the vicinity. Indeed, the first time I noticed one resting on a purple verbena, I thought it was a hornet until closer inspection revealed otherwise. Initially, I had to look this one up on google as I am no expert on hoverflies, but I do enjoy seeing them each year. They were originally centred around the London area, but are undergoing a range expansion. The attached photos are two different females from previous years - the females are identified by the fact that their eyes do not meet and have a yellow line separating them. In fact, I generally record females and to date have only seen one male.
No comments:
Post a Comment