Nature of Dorset

Bee-fly (Bombylius major) on Flickr.

This is a curious little insect which is quite common in Dorset in early spring. The adults do not fly for long so there is a limited oportunity to see them around the end of April.

Furry like a bee yet a true member of the order Diptera, common flies, there are twelve species of bee-fly in this country but this is the largest and most common, Bombylius major.

You will find this insect around flowers, especially primrose and ground-ivy whose flower heads seem to suit feeding with that long proboscis. Slow motion photography has shown that they actually cling on to the flowers with one pair of legs whilst giving the appearance of hovering.

They lay their eggs near the nests of solitary bees and wasps as the larvae are parasitic on such species. Harmless to humans (and other animals for that matter) although that long snout looks like it could give you a nasty sting or bite!

Find out more about the bee-fly here:
www.natureofdorset.co.uk/species/bee-fly

Banded General Soldier fly (Stratiomys potamida) on Flickr.

This striking yellow and black fly looked to me like a wasp-impersonating hoverfly when I first saw it but it turned out to be neither! It is just a fly despite that bold appearance. It is one of the family called soldier flies because of the smart uniform they wear.

This species was recently given the common name of the Banded General. Its larvae feed on algae and rotting vegetable matter in very damp areas so you will often find the fly itself in similar habitat either on the ground laying eggs or perhaps nectaring on nearby umbellifer flowers such as Hemlock-water Dropwort, Hogweed and Angelica.

One of three similar species so one need a careful eye to distinguish which one, the ‘eye’ that helped me with this one was the I-Spot website!
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www.natureofdorset.co.uk/species_panel/Banded%20General%2…

Broad Centurian Soldier Fly (Chloromia formosa) on Flickr.

If you take the trouble to look you will find this little fly sunbathing on the leaves of hedgerow plants in summer. They are also often seen feeding on the pollen from Hogweed in late summer.

Part of a family commonly known as Soldier Flies because of their bright colouring supposedly resembling military uniforms this one has been named the Broad Centurion. It has a flattened body with a square ‘tail’ end.

The fly itself is a wonderful metallic green that glistens in the sun. The male has a bronze sheen to the abdomen whereas the female has a more bluish colouring.

The grubs feed on leaf litter and other material in damp ground so the fly prefers wetter areas around woodland edges and hedges which have ditches.
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Find out more here: www.natureofdorset.co.uk/species_panel/Broad%20Centurion%…

Cranefly (Limonia nubeculosa) on Flickr.

One tends to think of crane-flies as resting with their wings open and at right-angles to the body and this is, indeed, a typical trait of the larger crane-flies of the common Tipulidae family. However, there are several species where this is not the case as you can see from this species, Limonia nubeculosa, Those folded back wings hide a small, slender body and long legs and they can look a bit like large mosquitoes! These are, though, quite harmless.

Mainly a woodland species, they can be found at any time of year but less so in winter of course. The larvae feed on rotting leaf litter, fungi and so on and are an integral part of the woodland recycling system.
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Find out more here: www.natureofdorset.co.uk/species_panel/Crane%20Fly%20%5BL…

Black Snipe Fly (Chrysopilus cristatus) on Flickr.

This is one of the range of flies known as snipe-flies but I cannot find the origins of why they are called this. They tend to rest head downwards so may be it something related to that?

This particular species is one of twelve in the genera and is called the Black Snipe-fly because many of this group are quite brightly coloured whereas this one is not! A fairly common species in damp, shady woodland found from May through until August. Its larvae live in rotting wood and leaf litter where they are predators of other small insects and invertebrates.

They do like to sunbathe as adults and this one was by the river at Kingcombe where it runs through the woodland, text book habitat!
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Find out more here: www.natureofdorset.co.uk/species_panel/Black%20Snipe%20Fly

Parasitic Fly (Tachina grossa) on Flickr.

In general I am pretty positive about nature; I try to find some beauty or wonder in everything but what can I find to like about this? It is ugly, dirty and evil! It is a parasitic fly called Tachina grossa and it is certainly gross. It is quite common on heathland in August and September and in flight it looks like a bumble-bee but when it settles it becomes quite obvious very quickly that it is not a cute little furry insect but a rather disgusting fly.

It parasitises large caterpillars by laying its eggs inside them. The larvae then eat the insides of the caterpillar before pupating and overwintering as a pupae. Given its liking for large caterpillars and heathland I expect the large, woolly caterpillar of the fox moth is a favoured target as they, too, are quite common in late summer.

However unpleasant it still has a role to play in the wider scheme of things and so I guess its ‘live and let live’!
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Find out more about Tachina grossa in Dorset here: www.natureofdorset.co.uk/species_panel/Parasitic%20fly%20…[T%20grossa]/nid&view_path=species_panel/Parasitic%20fly%20[T%20gr ossa]&view_base_path=species_master_basic&view_dom_id=2&pa ger_element=0&view_display_id=page_1

St Marks Fly: Bibio marci on Flickr.

St Marks day is the 25th April and it is about then that this fly emerges as an adult and can be seen in woodland across Dorset. That is where it gets its name from, St Marks Fly or Bibio marci.

It is quite a common insect of the spring and quite often will be seen in large numbers. They are quite distinctive when in flight as their legs hang down and when the weather is cooler or shady they rest on leaves as they await for the warmth of the sun to get them going again.They are jet black with big brown eyes and, overall, have a glossy appearance.

They are only active for about three weeks and then they are gone. They lay their eggs in leaf litter and rotting vegeatation and this is where the larva spends its life, helping to break down the leaves on the woodland floor.

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Find out more about the nature of Dorset at www.natureofdorset.co.ukSt Marks Fly

Dotted Bee-fly (Bombylius discolor) on Flickr.

I have been wildlife watching now for many, many years and I always work on the principle that statistically I am likely to see common things when I’m out rather than rareties but equally one should always expect the unexpected. In spring the Bee-fly is a fairly common site around spring flowers and especially Primroses and Ground Ivy, it has a brown furry body, long probosis and appears to hover when taking nectar from these flowers.
I happened upon a bee-fly that did not look quite right somehow. It was a bit bigger than usual and had light markings along the side and on closer inspection the wings were dotted. Thinking this was odd I took a photograph and so was able to look it up when I got home. There was nothing like it in my field guide but a bit of digging around and I discovered we actually have twelve species of bee-fly in this country although most are uncommon or rare.
I soon had an idenfication for this one, a Dotted Bee-fly, not rare but certainly uncommon and an interesting find. Yes, always expect the unexpected!

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Find out more about the nature of Dorset at www.natureofdorset.co.uk

Thick-headed Fly (Sicus ferrugineus) on Flickr.

Some species of insect are really quite unmistakable, they are so unique. Unmistakable, that is, if you know what they are.

After spending half an hour thumbing through my field guides I could not put a name to this species which annoyed me as it should have been quite obvious from the shape and the colour. In the end I gave up and posted he photograph on the Open University Ispot website [http://www.ispot.org.uk/] and within an hour or so it had been identified and three other people confirmed that it was the Thick-headed Fly (Sicus ferrugineus).

Referring back to my field guides this species is in neither of them so thanks to those enthusiasts on Ispot without whose help this would be another photograph an unidentified insect.

I guess the name thick-headed fly is descriptive of its appearance and not its mental intelligence?

Hoverfly [Chrysotoxum bicinctum] on Flickr.

I am always on the look out for new hoverflies to photograph and learn about. I find them fascinating as they are so variable in size, appearance and behaviour.

When I discovered this one I thought I was photographing a wasp and it wasn’t until I got a closer look at home on the computer screen I realised it was not a wasp species but a hoverfly. That deception is, of course, intentional. Potential preditors may think twice before having a go at this particular harmless insect; mind you, they would have to catch it first - hoverflies go from nought to gone in less than a second!

This species is vary variable in its distribution, common where you find it but not found everywhere if that makes any sense. My book says that this species usually occurs in grassy situations but likes the shelter of scrub and shrubs. In both places I have now seen it this has been true.