On my walk to the local Beech wood this afternoon I passed some ivy in bloom on a roadside verge, and was quite amazed at how many hoverflies were busying themselves feeding of the sweet nectar and pollen.
I was also taken how the autumn sunlight appeared to make their colours richer.
They were that busy hovering around from flower to flower they were quite tricky to photograph.
Drone Fly Eristalis tenax. Local roadside verge, Staffordshire, England. October 2016.
A very regular visitor to my garden. The yellow-orange patches on the abdomen of this hoverfly helps make it mimic the male honeybee, and although they maybe quite variable, they help it keep predators at bay. The ground colour is darkish brown, and the body is covered in fine hairs. A broad, dark stripe running down the centre of the face is a key identifying feature. It also has a distinctly enlarged and curved hind tibia. It grows up to 16mm long. There are similar species, and one has to take care in identification.
The adults are often seen hovering around flower heads in search of nectar on which they feed. The larvae live in stagnant water and are called ‘rat-tailed maggots’ because they have a siphon which can extend to about 5cm long which they use as a snorkel so they can breathe under water whilst feeding on decaying organic material. When fully grown, the larvae leave the water and find a sheltered, drier habitat to pupate. The pupae are reddish-brown in colour and retains the long tail which makes it resemble a small rodent.
Found all year round as the females hibernate in the colder climes of winter, but will venture out on warmer days. They are found in various habitats, including flowery meadows, hedgerows, woodland margins, and especially numerous in flower-rich gardens. A common and widespread species.
Photographs taken March 2014, on front grass verge, and August 2015, rear garden Staffordshire.
I beleive this is the larva of the Drone Fly (Eristalis tenax), which I found swimming in my garden pond this morning. It was very hard to photo for it constantly kept moving around. It swims by whipping its long tail through the water, and it also uses this tail as a siphon which can extend to about 5cm long acting as a snorkel to breathe under water whilst feeding on decaying organic material. It also has stubby legs to grip rocks and soil below the water or out of the water.
It lives in still or stagnant water like ponds and ditches, and when fully grown it leaves the water to find a sheltered, drier habitat to pupate. The pupae are reddish-brown in colour and retains the long tail which makes it resemble a small rodent.
Photographs taken June 2016, garden pond, Staffordshire.
Nature Journeys 