Most of the Ivy has finished and hoverfly numbers are low. So another season winds up. There were 8 species at the park Ivy and dying flowerbed. Platycheirus clypeatus being the only hoverfly of note. Episyrphus balteatus was the most numerous at 15. Any more hoverfly records will be casual/isolated observations rather than recording at sites.
Just the 3 Red Admiral left among the 100's of Common and Tree Wasps.
It's that time of year when all the flowers have died back except for a few isolated pockets of Michaelmas Daisy and ornamental flowers in parks and gardens. Even the Ivy is starting to die back. The cemetery Ivy is nearly gone but the Welfare Park is still blooming as well as the Caerau pockets. So this will probably be the end of the hoverfly season for another year. This weekend though produced another 3 migrant Xanthandrus comtus, the most I've seen in a single day. In total 13 species were recorded, with no other surprises. Although migrant flies seem to be outnumbering the residents with 22 Episyrphus balteatus, 2 Scaeva pyrastri and 2 Syrphus vitripennis seen.
Other insects are now becoming scarce with my first Painted Lady in a while feeding on Ivy and large numbers of Harlequin Ladybird present. Nothing to report on the bird front, which was a little disappointing.
