Mynydd Caerau (west) [SS8794] - Sunday

 Mynydd Caerau forestry paths are full of Angelica and other blooms and a good place to visit when you have little time to spare. I recorded 27 species here on Sunday. Rhingia rostrata was new for the year and other highlights included Eupeodes lapponicus, Leucozona laternaria and Melangyna umbellatarum. Highest numbers were again Meliscaeva cinctella (130), which seems to be king of the coniferous areas.

Other insect were headed by a Painted Lady butterfly and a Vapourer moth caterpillar as well as the Angelica feeding micro moth Phaulernis fulviduttella.

Melangyna umbellatarum

Cheilosia bergenstammi

Painted Lady

Phaulernis fulviguttella

Vapourer moth caterpillar

Spelter [SS8593]

 Getting warm again 25c today, hoverfly numbers seem to be in a lull for most species, but now it's "Eristalis time". 26 species recorded today with 6 being Eristalis. Highlights included Eupeodes lapponicus, Eristalis intricaria and Volucella pellucens (scarce this year). The highest numbers recorded is now the battle of the "tenaxes" With Eristalis tenax (75) outdoing Eristalis pertinax (45).

Other insects included the dragonflies - Southern Hawker, Keeled Skimmer, Common Darter and Golden-ringed Dragonfly. Butterflies were highlighted by a group of 12 Green-veined White "mud licking" at a drying out pool. Flies were represented by the tachinid Nowickia ferox and a large emergence of the fungus gnat Sciara hemerobiodes. Finally the plant bug Deraeocoris ruber seemed to be out in good numbers.

Eristalis tenax

Helophilus pendulus

Scaeva pyrastri

Volucella pellucens

Deraeocoris ruber

weekend round up

 Over the fine warm weekend I visited Gilfach (west) [30 species] and Blaencaerau [32 species]. New for the year was Lejogaster metallina. Some of the more interesting species included Dasysyrphus tricinctus, Eupeodes lapponicus, Leucozona glaucia, Leucozona laternaria, Melangyna compositarum, Melangyna umbellatarum, Orthonevra nobilis and Eristalis intricaria. Meliscaeva cinctella (72) numbers are now dropping with both Eristalis pertinax (282) and Eristalis tenax (105) taking over on the good crops of Hemp Agrimony and Common Fleabane.

Chrysogaster solstitialis

Eristalis intricaria

Leucozona glaucia

Melangyna compositarum

Dasysyrphus tricinctus

Stictoleptura rubra (female)

Maesteg (golf course) [SS8391]

 This 1km square comprises of the top half of the golf course plus surrounding lanes as well as the Garnwen car park area and takes about 2hrs to walk slowly.  After todays walk the number of species recorded there has risen to 76.  Humid today with some cloud cover but little wind means I recorded 28 species.  A lot of hoverflies were present on Angelica, Black Knapweed, Hemp Agrimony and now Common Fleabane. Big numbers of Syrphus around (150+) with Syrphus Ribesii (55 female) emerging in big numbers. Highlights included Leucozona glaucia, Melangyna compositarum and Riponnensia splendens. A few species in high number besides the Syrphus included Meliscaeva cinctella (85), Eristalis pertinax (120) and Eristalis tenax (60).

Syrphus ribesii

Leucozona glaucia

Riponnensia splendens

Conops quadrifasciatus (conopidae fly)

Phasia hemiptera (Tachinidae fly)

Mynydd Caerau

 The Hogweed is starting to fade but is being replaced by good crops of Angelica, Black Knapweed and Hemp Agrimony. So a little jaunt out after family duties provided me with 27 species of Hoverfly. Highlights being Chrysotoxum arcuatum (on a plastic bag), Cheilosia vernalis and Eristalis rupium, The battle for number supremacy is still being waged between Meliscaeva cinctella (188) and Eristalis pertinax (70).

Other insects noted today were the butterflies Red Admiral and Small Copper, the micro moth Platyptilia gonodactyla (triangle plume) and the longhorn beetle Stictoleptura rubra (male). 

Chrysotoxum arcuatum

Small Copper

Stictoleptura rubra

Platyptilia gonadactyla

100 species before August

 A visit to Blaencaerau after work on the last day of July gave me my 100 species of hoverfly for the year in Eristalis rupium. When I started recording back in 2015 this site was the furthest south in Great Britain that it had been recorded. It has slowly moved south since then and is now regularly recorded in Devon and Cornwall. Only 22 species recorded today mostly commoner species with Meliscaeva cinctella (55) winning the battle for most numerous species over Eristalis pertinax (40).

Eristalis rupium

Eristalis horticola

Spelter

 Two visits to the Spelter gave me a total of 34 species. New for the year was Parasyrphus lineola taking me to 99 species for the year and 78 species for the site. Other highlights included Eupeodes latifasciatus, Leucozona glaucia, Melangyna compositarum, Scaeva selenitica, Scarva pyrastri, Xanthogramma pedissequum and Riponnensia splendens. Eristalis pertinax (110) has finally taken over Meliscaeva cinctella (70) as the most numerous species.

Other notable insects were the tachinid fly Nowickia ferox (3) and the longhorn beetle Stictoleptura rubra (male).

Riponnensia splendens

Myathropa florea

Dasysyrphus albostriatus

Nowickia ferox

Stictoleptura rubra

Top Llangynwyd

 Weather was mostly cloudy, and for the first time in weeks hoverfly numbers have noticeably dipped. But I still managed 25 species. Highlights included yet more Eupeodes lapponicus, Helophilus hybridus and Xylota sylvarum. Nothing was new for the year, while the most numerous species was Eristalis pertinax (70). If the quiet period (2 weeks) between broods is about to start then my next visit tomorrow should be quiet also.

Concerning other insects I had my first Stictoleptura rubra longhorn beetle of the year but I failed to find Essex Skipper butterfly amongst the emerging Small Skipper.

Chrysotoxum bicinctum

Leucozona glaucia

photos of various insects from the weekend

 

Cinnamon Bug

Conops (flavipes I think)

Dingy Footman

Harlequin Ladybird (with parasitic wasp sp.)  [looking at it again it might be a sawfly species]

Locust Blowfly

Pammene aurana

Phasia hemiptera (female)

Phasia hemiptera (male)

Physocephala sp. (probably rufipes)

Local patch weekend

 Did a full sweep of my local area over the weekend. The numbers of hoverflies (1000+) and species (43) was astounding attracted to plants like Hogweed and Creeping Thistle. With Angelica, Wild Parsnip and Common Ragwort not yet fully in bloom. Totals included Spelter (22 species), Caerau (27) species and Blaencaerau (39 species). New for the year were Helophilus trivittatus and Riponnensia splendens taking me to 97 species for the year.. There were many highlights such as Chrysotoxum arcuatum, Chrysotoxum bicinctum, Eupeodes lapponicus, Leucozona glaucia, Leucozona laternarium, Melangyna compositarum, Melangyna umbellatarum, Scaeva pyrastri, Cheilosia fraterna and Cheilosia vernalis. There were good emergences of  Syrphus (300+) and Eupeodes (100+) species as well as  Platycheirus albimanus (100+) and Eristalis pertinax (100+), While Meliscaeva cinctella (90) numbers remain high

Many other families of insects were also on show but I'll have to keep that for another post whilst I go through the backlog of photos.

Cheilosia fraterna

Cheilosia illustrata

Chrysotoxum arcuatum

Chrysotoxum bicinctum

Dasysyrphus albostriatus

Eupeodes luniger

Leucozona glaucia

Leucozona laternaria

Scaeva pyrastri

Serocomyia silentis