Oldt1mer - Keith's photos with the keyword: Hoverfly

This pretty little Hoverfly is the Helophilus pendulus, otherwise known as the Sun-Fly because of its habit of basking on leaves or other surfaces in the sun. Common throughout Europe, it can be found pretty much anywhere there are flowers to feed on. This one was seen, true to form, having a good sunbathe on a leaf at Martin Mere Wetlands. This Picture is fully © Copyrighted. None of my images may be copied, reproduced or altered in any form or manner or placed on the internet or any other social media, or in any form of publication either print or otherwise, in any form or manner without my written permission.

A look back to warmer days and the beautiful little Marmalade Fly - Episyrphus balteatus - which is possibly the commonest and most widespread hoverfly in the UK. At approximately 1 cm long it can be seen pretty much year round feeding on wildflowers of various kinds but is more prevalent in the warmer months. It is really interesting that not only are they one of the few species of fly that can crush pollen grains to feed on them, they can actually fly backwards as well. These three seemed to be having a pollen fest on the dandelion flower at Martin Mere Wetlands, Burscough, Lancashire. This Picture is fully © Copyrighted. None of my images may be copied, reproduced or altered in any form or manner or placed on the internet or any other social media, or in any form of publication either print or otherwise, in any form or manner without my written permission.

This is, I think, a female Eristalis pertinax which landed, for a very short time, on a small patch of Ragwort - Senecio jacobaea. The Eristalis is a large genus of around 99 species of Hover and Drone Flies which makes it very difficult to positively identify this one, especially from just the side view. (Maybe someone with more knowledge of this can help?). Common Ragwort is a very widespread 'weed' which grows up to 1m high and is highly attractive to Bees and other insects. Seen by the Leeds-Liverpool Canal near Pennington Flash, Leigh, Lancashire. This Picture is fully © Copyrighted. None of my images may be copied, reproduced or altered in any form or manner or placed on the internet or any other social media, or in any form of publication either print or otherwise, in any form or manner without my written permission.

This is a female Myathropa florea, sometimes known as the Batman Hoverfly or Dead Head Hoverfly because the bold yellow and black markings of the male are much more defined. It is a very common species in Europe and North Africa This one was spotted at Puerto Banus whilst on a trip to Spain a few years ago. This Picture is fully © Copyrighted. None of my images may be copied, reproduced or altered in any form or manner or placed on the internet or any other social media, or in any form of publication either print or otherwise, in any form or manner without my written permission.