The hoverfly season is all but over for another year. I may get the odd records on sunny days, but nothing to trouble the statistics. 2018 started off very cold and a prolonged winter meant spring was 4 weeks later than last year, also this summer was hot and stayed hot for weeks giving rise to a heatwave that lasted from the end of June to mid August. This heatwave hit hoverfly numbers hard as a lot of the species (larva) either feed on aphids (greatly reduced) or are the aquatic type larva (pools and mud dried up). So overall numbers were down 17% on the average mean.
It wasn't all doom and gloom though as I added 2 new species to the list in Cheilosia chrysocoma (07 May) and new for Wales Eristalis similis (27 September). Paul Tabor also added 2 species to the list in Melangyna cincta and Eristalinus sepulchralis. Giving us a total of 132. I have sent off my specimens to the Hoverfly Recording scheme, I am averaging 6 new species a year this way and I think this year will be just as good if not better if my initial identifications are confirmed. So I expect the total to rise again by the end of the year.
Some yearly highlights included Didea fasciata (5), Eriozona syrphoides (1), Megasyrphus erratica (1), Eupeodes lapponicus (4), Parasyrphus malinellus (2), Rhingia rostrata (4) and Eristalis rupium (15). I recorded 101 species this year but that will rise with specimens identified, whereas 2017 which was my best year to date had 106 species including specimens. So here's looking to next March when I begin again in my quest to get 150 species for the valley.
