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Xylota segnis is a widespread and abundant hoverfly, with distinctively coloured legs which also have spines on the underside of hind femur. It favours woods, hedgerows and even gardens. It can be found from April to November, peaking in June and July. It breeds in rotting dead wood but also in wet sawdust.
Since the larvae are saprophytic in rotting wood the adults are generally found associated with woodland and woodland edges and can often be seen running over the upper sides of leaves. They rarely visit flowers preferring instead to gather pollen from leaf surfaces.
Hoverfly feeding on crocus flower. Focus stacked using zerene. Using a canon 60mm EF-s macro lens with 65mm of ext tubes
Hoverfly - Rhingia campestris - Highdown gdns. Natural light.
I only very rarely see these in my own garden but they were all over the place at Highdown
Small dark hoverflies that are said to mimic solitary bees and I certainly almost overlooked this one as there were many small dark solitary bees sunning themselves on the same plant in my garden.
There are two very similar species E.funeralis and E.strigatus which can only be separated by close examination but I have stuck my neck out and identified this as E.funeralis as I believe you can just see the bare hairless area on the hind femora of this example which is indicative of this species.
I was quite pleased to stumble upon this one which is another new species for me personally.
Hoverflies, sometimes called flower flies, or syrphid flies, make up the insect family Syrphidae. As their common name suggests, they are often seen hovering or nectaring at flowers; the adults of many species feed mainly on nectar and pollen, while the larvae eat a wide range of foods.
Hoverfly, Episyrphus balteatus in the "studio". Focus stacked using zerene. Same hoverfly as previous on finger shots. I eventually released the hover into my greenhouse which does at least have frost heating
Hoverflies, sometimes called flower flies, or syrphid flies, make up the insect family Syrphidae. As their common name suggests, they are often seen hovering or nectaring at flowers.
There are about 6,000 species of Hoverflies in 200 genera and can be found throughout the world on all continents except Antarctica.
The size of Hoverflies varies depending on the species. Some are small, elongated, and slender, while others are large, hairy, and yellow and black. As members of the Diptera, all Hoverflies have a single functional pair of wings (the hind wings are reduced to balancing organs). They are brightly colored, with spots, stripes, and bands of yellow or brown covering their bodies. Due to this coloring, they are often mistaken for wasps or bees; they exhibit Batesian mimicry. Despite this, Hoverflies are harmless.
Adults Hoverflies of many species feed mainly on nectar and pollen, while the larvae (maggots) eat a wide range of foods. In some species, the larvae are saprotrophs, eating decaying plant and animal matter in the soil or in ponds and streams. In other species, the larvae are insectivores and prey on aphids, thrips, and other plant-sucking insects.
ISO400, aperture f/8, exposure .006 seconds (1/200) focal length 300mm