This is by far the smallest local hoverfly - Neoascia podagrica. In order to see them, I have to sit on a verge and wait for tiny shimmering dots to hover into view. This specimen was about 5 mm long. For those of you raised on inches, that's about 1/5th of an inch. Check it out on a ruler.
It took a little while to resolve this pair of Cixiids. These are true bugs - related to the much more common leaf hoppers.
Rhingia campestris is a very visible hoverfly with its rosy abdomen clearly seen in flight. The long 'nose' is a sheath for its extremely long, folding tongue. Previously seen only in rural areas (its larvae live in cow dung), this is now being seen in more urban settings, leading to the assumption that more domesticated dung is also being used.
This male Melanostoma scalare was nectaring on Germander Speedwell and Dog Violets:
Sawflies are closely related to bees and wasps. The female's sting is modified into a saw which is used to cut slits in leaves to hold her eggs.
2 comments:
Nice page - what a shot that Neoascia podagrica is.
Sawfly is now identified as Aglaostigma aucupariae.
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