Every cloud

The weather has been abysmal for several days, with bad light even when it has been dry. Today I saw blue gaps in the cloud, so I ran for the hills, where the Angelica is abundant.

This hoverfly got me rather excited, because I knew I hadn't seen it before. Several shots were rattled off and anticipation was high during the rest of the photography session. When I got the pictures back to the computer and opened the books, I was slightly disappointed to discover it wasn't a new species for me, but merely a new colour variation of one that I had seen once before. It's the orange and black version of the bumblebee mimic Eriozona syrphoides.

The bumblebee-mimicking hoverfly Eriozona syrphoides

Eriozona syrphoides is the only bumblebee mimic to have an obtusely re-entrant (curved) vein at the position indicated by the arrow.

Note. I have amended the identification of this hoverfly as a result of a much better set of photographs taken a few days later.

Here's a shot of it beside an ichneumonid:

Eriozona syrphoides (right) and ichneumonid (left)

Staying with ichneumonids, this one has a quite impressive ovipositor:

Ichneumonid with long ovipositor

I saw a few of those wandering over Knapweed flowerheads, so we know what that ovipositor is used for.

This large brown specimen looks to be close to the Ophion family:

3 cm. ichneumonid

Dungflies are voracious hunters as adults (they're probably making up for all the dung they eat as larvae.) This one is making a meal of a smaller sawfly:

Dungfly with prey

But this dungfly has fallen foul of a little cream-coloured spider:

Spider with dungfly as prey

Now that's a truly vicious circle.

I was quite surprised to find a pristine Red Admiral butterfly nectaring on the Angelica:

Red Admiral butterfly

It's absolutely pristine, with no wear whatsoever, so it's clearly one of the local offspring of the early summer migrants. These feed solely on nettles as caterpillars.

At this time of year I always look closely at clusters of aphids on Knapweed. The larvae of the hoverfly Syrphus ribesii consume large numbers of aphids, and the female always makes sure her offspring have an adequate supply:

Larva of Syrphus ribesii with aphids

Meliscaeva cinctella is one of the later hoverflies, usually to be found from August onwards. Its larvae are also aphid eaters, but solely on tree-dwelling species, such as the Wooly beech aphid.

Meliscaeva cinctella hoverfly

Fairy Flax is a very delicate little flower which I tend to find near the edges of forestry, or along forest paths:

Fairy Flax

Just as I was getting out of the car, this leafhopper flew over my shoulder and landed on the path in front of me. Click.

The leafhopper Cicadella viridis

Waiting for Angelica

Wild Angelica is my summer hunting ground for insects, but it's about 2 weeks late this year. So we'll have to make do...

Yellow Rattle is present in a few of the higher areas Take a close look at the complex leaves:

Fairy Flax has the alternative name of Purging Flax. Don't be tempted to eat any part of this plant:

There are many 'subspecies' of Eyebright; some with white flowers, others with lilac. I was under the impression that I have two cohabiting varieties, but I now believe that my local ones start off with white flowers and then convert to lilac later in the year. I have marked a few white specimens and plan to monitor them over the next couple of months.

Hogweed is standing in as my nectaring umbellifer of choice at the moment. I got this shot of the hoverfly Leucozona laternaria, which looks like a strangely monochrome version of its close relative Leucozona glaucia, which I will show soon.