Garnwen comes alive !

Weather has been pretty overcast lately, but today for a few hours at least it was sunny and warm out of the wind. There are 2 Sycamores along the track that are now in full bloom and today in the sunshine they provided 93 hoverflies of 25 species coming and going to feed and in the surrounding area. This is the time of year when things really start to liven up on the hoverfly front and marks the start of the true hoverfly season, when anything can turn up. So I'll give a full list for once of what I recorded.

Melanostoma mellinum (2), Melanostoma scalare (15), Platycheirus albimanus (8), Platycheirus clypeatus (1), Platycheirus scutatus (2), Dasysyrphus venustus (3), Epistrophe eligans (1), Episyrphus balteatus (1), Eupeodes luniger (1), Leucozona lucorum (1), Melangyna lasiophthalma (2), Meliscaeva auricollis (2), Meliscaeva cinctella (2), Syrphus ribesii (12), Syrphus torvus (1), Cheilosia albitarsis (6), Cheilosia bergenstammi (1), Cheilosia pagana (3), Cheilosia proxima (2), Cheilosia variabilis (1), Rhingia campestris (5), Neoascia meticulosa (1), Neoascia podagrica (1), Eristalis pertinax (4), Helophilus pendulus (1).

For anytime of the year that would be a great haul, but for early May it is quite exceptional for the valley, but the story doesn't end there. I also took a few specimens of things I couldn't identify in the field, amongst them were three interesting specimens. I believe that I have Dasysyrphus neovenustus (new for Wales), Brachyopa pilosa (new for Glamorgan) and Cheilosia vicina, . I will just have to wait till the end of the year for confirmation from Roger Morris of the hoverfly recording scheme.

Many things get away while attempting to take specimens. My first instinct is to try and capture something new rather than photograph it, so today I probably missed a Cheilosia nebulosa (would have been new for the valley). I also came across an odd Cheilosia which I photographed (just), a pair were vigorously defending a patch of Mouse-ear Hawkweed and would chase off any encroaching flies. All my attempts to catch one failed so I just have a photo to mull over what could have been.

This is the mystery Cheilosia defending Mouse-ear Hawkweed and was medium to large for a Cheilosia. There are two species that lay eggs on M-EH but both "psilophthalma" and "urbana"  are small for Cheilosia.