What a difference a day makes

After virtually 2 days rain, my crude rain gatherer says 3", all the blooming Hogweed started producing nectar and pollen. Subsequently hoverfly numbers have tripled and lots of other species are starting to appear also. In the afternoon I recorded 25 species of hoverfly at Top Llan, with the commoner species out in good numbers like Platycheirus albimanus (100), Melanostoma scalare (75) and Episyrphus balteatus (25). Highlights were Dasysyrphus albostriatus (3), Leucozona laternaria (7) and Volucella bombylans (1).

Day flying moths were also feeding on Hogweed with the rather attractive Argolamprotes micella new for me, also present were 20+ Pammene aurana and what I think is a Plum Tortrix (Sid will confirm/reidentify for me), butterflies and bees have taken a hit with the rain and numbers were low compared to of late. I managed to photograph the Common Awl Robberfly (Neoitamus cyanurus) which was new for me if not the valley.

2 family parties of Spotted Flycatcher were present in the spruce/beech plantation and the Caerau swifts have had a good year producing 32 juvs from 11 pairs, but the pair in my street are still trying to coax out the juvs from the nest. I found 3 nests of active House Martins in the Caerau Road area, which is the highest for a while.

 Dasysyrphus albostriatus

 Common Awl Robberfly (Neoitamus cyanurus)

Plum Tortrix ? (Sid - what you think)