A really overcast day maxing out at 17c with a strong south-westerly wind, was more akin to sea-watching than looking for hoverflies. Nevertheless Hogweed, Common/Oxford Ragwort and various Knapweed and Thistles are now in full bloom, so I surprisingly recorded 25 species of hoverfly, some in good numbers too. Nothing new for the year today but out in good numbers were Eristalis pertinax (60), Meliscaeva cinctella (56), Meliscaeva auricollis (52), Platycheirus albimanus (40), Episyrphus balteatus (35), Cheilosia illustrata (30) and Syritta pipiens (25). Some of the more interesting species seen included Dasysyrphus albostriatus (2), Didea fasciata (4), Eupeodes lapponicus (1), Leucozona laternaria (1), Melangyna umbellatarum (1) and Cheilosia bergenstammi (1) which is a bit thin on the ground this year.
Other insects were scarce in the gloom with no butterflies as expected. There were a few freshly emerged 6-spot Burnet moth, and good numbers of Early and Red-tailed Bumblebees. Finally the tachinid fly Dexiosoma caninum was seen for the first time this year. A fly-by Peregrine was the only bird of note.
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| Six-spot Burnet |
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