Bees & Hoverflies

A little bit of sunshine was all that was needed to bring the bees and hoverflies to the flower beds. Have already had regular visits from Buff-tailed and Red-tailed Bumblebees and Honey Bees but have also seen at least 3 different types of mining/solitary bee. The only one that I've managed to image is this one.

Could this be a Tawny Mining Bee?

In name only ..... the first visit to the garden of a Bee Fly. Hopefully it will visit again and I will be able to try for a 'head shot'.

Lots of these little hoverflies in the beds. I think they could be Platycheirus albimanus but would appreciate confirmation/correction.

garden hoverflies 09 April

The sun shone and the hoverflies came in to check out the flowerbeds. Saw a  couple of Marmalade Hoverflies and a few Eristalis pertinax - particularly on the bright yellow wallflowers

and a number of smaller hoverflies seemed to like the saxifrage. Don't know what these are, possible Meliscaeva . I couldn't get a good view of the abdomen so probably not going to get an ID for this one.

Spring at Forest Farm

We haven't had very many glorious spring so far this year, but yesterday was a cracker and I couldn't resist a lunchtime outing to Forest Farm in Whitchurch. There is a nice woodland clearing just north of the lock, and this was teeming with insect life. As well as Brimstones (3 males), a Comma and a Peacock were my first bee-flies (Bombylius major) of the year, a Hairy Shieldbug (Dolycoris baccarum) and numerous hoverflies. The latter included two 'Ramsons hoverflies' Portevinia maculata, whose larvae feed on the roots of Wild Garlic.

I was pleased to see this species as I hadn't seen it locally before, but hadn't appreciated the significance of the date until I posted a photo on the UK Hoverflies Facebook group. Roger Morris of the Hoverfly Recording Scheme commented that this is a very early date for this species, in fact the earliest in the UK for several years.This came as a surprise as most insects do not seem particularly early this spring.

I also spotted this large solitary bee by the visitor centre, which turns out to be Melecta albifrons, a scarce species in Wales.

It is a cuckoo of the commoner Hairy-footed Flower-bee (Anthophora plumipes). The female enters a nest burrow of Anthophora and lays an egg on the pollen supply gathered for its own offspring. When the Melecta egg hatches the larva kills the Anthophora egg/larva and feeds up on the food supply intended for it.