Nature of Dorset

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.

Hoverfly (Pyrophaena granditarsa) on Flickr.

Hoverflies come in all sorts of guises, some wasp and bee mimics, some quite slim, even very small, and others much bigger and chunkier. One thing that instantly distinguishes them, of course, is their incredible ability to hover and to fly at exceptional speeds - nought to gone in less than a second!

You often do not get much to go when identifying them, the designs on their body being the usual feature but unless they are perched on a leaf or taking nectar from a flower they can be difficult to get a close view of.

With this one, I disturbed it from a bramble bush alongside the river Piddle on Wareham Common and as I did so it revealed a bright reddish orange thorax which may be just discernible from the photograph. To complete the identification I needed my text book on hoverflies that says this species, Pyrophaena granditarsa, is common on marshy meadows with lush vegetation and ditches and if one description describes Wareham Common it is precisely that!

So, no arguments, this is the awkwardly named Pyrophaena granditarsa!