Blaencaerau C.O.P.

A healthy score of 27 species of hoverfly, with new for the year in Platycheirus angustatus, Cheilosia antiqua, Helophilus trivittatus, Pipiza austriaca and Volucella bombylans (plumata form).
I've taken a Dasysyrphus venustus aggregate that might be neovenustus and the Cheilosia antiqua was only my second sighting. The first Volucella always heralds the June explosion, so I'm hoping to hit 30-40 species a couple of times in June.

Summer butterflies are now starting to emerge with Dingy Skipper, Large Skipper, Speckled Wood, Small Heath, Small Tortoiseshell and Common Blue all abundant. First of the Leaf-cutter bees have emerged with Patchwork and Willoughby's present with increased numbers of bumblebees especially Tree Bumblebee. No dragonflies yet but damselfly numbers increasing. Speckled Longhorn was the pick of the beetles. Burnet cocoons are now everywhere, so it wont be to long before they emerge in their thousands.

Amongst the birds summer residents have now settled down with Swifts screaming through the streets and House Martin collecting mud for nests. The Goshawks have built in a different site this year probably due to disturbance. Regular Cuckoos can be heard from both sides of the valley around the Meadow Pipit areas. Grasshopper Warbler and Nightjar have returned in good numbers too. Whitethroat numbers are easily as high as I've seen them previously.

 Ox-eye daises are attracting a lot of Eristalis at the moment, this one is Eristalis tenax, but Eristalis nemorum has had a large emergence.

 Volucella bombylans harbinger of the hoverfly horde to come.

Xylota jakutorum - one day I'll find "florum" in the woods.