Syrphus sp. Fabricius, 1775

North Shore, Blagdon Lake. © Nigel Milbourne 2016

 

Hoverflies Photo Gallery

 

Here is a Hoverfly list that I’ve put together from my existing records and research. I have used the checklist given on the Dipterists Forum dated 2024. In the preamble to the latest list update that discusses revisions and updates the list has reverted to alphabetical order “because syrphid phylogeny is in such a state of flux.”

All records are my own and those taken from a survey conducted by D.J. Gibbs, unless stated otherwise, so any inaccuracy is entirely down to me. If anyone has records they’d like to include, please contact me and I will insert and acknowledge them accordingly.

I made a voucher collection from the site during 2013 (with a permit from English Nature), which is not something I do lightly. However, there appear to be few, if any, records for the squares covering the lake, even in Somerset Hoverflies (1998), so I hope my collection will address this and provide specimens that can be verified and eventually donated to Bristol Museum.

Annotated Site Hoverflies List [2024 Revision]

Order Diptera (True flies)

Family Syrphidae (Hoverflies)

Baccha Fabricius, 1805

  • Baccha elongata Fabricius, 1805. 2011 (N.R. Milbourne). Scarce.

Chalcosyrphus, 1925

  • Xylotina nemorum (Fabricius, 1805). 2013 (N.R. Milbourne).

Cheilosia Meigen, 1822

  • Cheilosia albitarsis (Meigen, 1822). 2013 (N.R. Milbourne).
  • Cheilosia illustrata (Harris, 1780). 2013 (N.R. Milbourne).
  • Cheilosia impressa Loew 1840. 2013 (N.R. Milbourne).
  • Cheilosia lasiopa Kowarz, 1885. 2013 (N.R. Milbourne).
  • Cheilosia pagana (Meigen, 1822). 2013 (N.R. Milbourne).
  • Cheilosia ranunculi Doczkal 2000. 2004 (D.J. Gibbs).

Chrysogaster Meigen, 1803

  • Chrysogaster solstitialis (Fallén, 1817). 2013 (N.R. Milbourne).

Chrysotoxum Meigen, 1803

  • Chrysotoxum bicinctum (Linnaeus, 1758). 2003 (N.R. Milbourne).
  • Chrysotoxum cautum (Harris, 1776). 2011 (N.R. Milbourne).

Epistrophe Walker, 1852

  • Epistrophe eligans (Harris, 1780). 2010 (N.R. Milbourne).

Episyrphus Matsumura & Adachi 1917

  • Episyrphus balteatus  Marmalade Hoverfly (De Geer, 1776). 2010 (N.R. Milbourne). Sometimes abundant migrant.

Eristalinus Rondani, 1845

  • Eristalinus sepulchralis (Linnaeus, 1758). 2004 (D.J. Gibbs).

Eristalis Latreille, 1804

  • Eristalis arbustorum (Linnaeus, 1758). 2011 (N.R. Milbourne). Abundant.
  • Eristalis nemorum (Linnaeus, 1758). 2013 (N.R. Milbourne). Abundant.
  • Eristalis intricaria (Linnaeus, 1758). (N.R. Milbourne). Common.
  • Eristalis pertinax (Scopoli, 1763). 2001 (N.R. Milbourne). Abundant.
  • Eristalis tenax Drone Fly (Linnaeus, 1758). 2011 (N.R. Milbourne). Common.

Eupeodes Osten Sacken, 1877

  • Eupeodes corollae (Fabricius, 1794). 2013 (N.R. Milbourne).
  • Eupeodes luniger (Meigen, 1822). 2004 (D.J. Gibbs).

Ferdinandea Rondani, 1844

  • Ferdinandea cuprea (Scopoli 1763). 2017 (N.R. Milbourne).

Helophilus Meigen, 1822

  • Helophilus hybridus Loew 1846. 2013 (N.R. Milbourne). Common.
  • Helophilus pendulus (Linnaeus, 1758). 2001 (N.R. Milbourne). Common.
  • Helophilus trivittatus (Fabricius, 1805). 2013 (N.R. Milbourne). Fairly common.

Lejogaster Rondani, 1857

  • Lejogaster metallina (Fabricius, 1781). 2013 (N.R. Milbourne).

Leucozona Schiner, 1860

  • Leucozona lucorum (Linnaeus, 1758). 2001 (N.R. Milbourne).

Melangyna Verall, 1901

  • Melangyna compositarum /labiatarum agg. 2013 (N.R. Milbourne). See note 1 below.

Melanostoma Schiner, 1860

  • Melanostoma mellinum (Linnaeus, 1758). 2001 (N.R. Milbourne). Common.
  • Melanostoma scalare (Fabricius, 1794). 2011 (N.R. Milbourne). Common.

Meliscaeva Frey, 1946

  • Meliscaeva cinctella (Zetterstedt, 1843). 2013 (N.R. Milbourne).

Myathropa Rondani, 1845

  • Myathropa florea (Linnaeus, 1758). 2010 (N.R. Milbourne). Fairly common.

Neoascia Williston, 1886

  • Neoascia podagrica (Fabricius, 1775). 2013 (N.R. Milbourne).

Parhelophilus Girschner, 1897

  • Parhelophilus versicolor (Fabricius, 1794). 2013 (N.R. Milbourne).

Pipiza Fallén, 1810

  • Pipiza noctiluca (Linnaeus, 1758). 2012 (N.R. Milbourne). Verified by Roger Morris.

Pipizella Rondani , 1856

  • Pipizella viduata (Linnaeus, 1758). 2004 (D.J. Gibbs).

Platycheirus Le Peletier & Serville, 1828

  • Platycheirus albimanus (Fabricius, 1781). 2013 (N.R. Milbourne). Abundant.
  • Platycheirus angustatus (Zetterstedt, 1843). 2004 (D.J. Gibbs).
  • Platycheirus clypeatus (Meigen, 1822). 2013 (N.R. Milbourne). Common.
  • Platycheirus peltatus (Meigen, 1822). 2013 (N.R. Milbourne).

Pyrophaena Schiner, 1860

  • Platycheirus granditarsus (Forster, 1771). 2013 (N.R. Milbourne).
  • Platycheirus rosarum (Fabricius, 1787). 2004 (D.J. Gibbs), 2013 (N.R. Milbourne).

Portevinia Goffe, 1944

  • Portevinia maculata (Fallén, 1817). 2011 (N.R. Milbourne). On Ramsons Allium ursinum in May.

Rhingia Scopoli, 1763

  • Rhingia campestris Meigen 1822. 2000 (N.R. Milbourne).
  • Rhingia rostrata (Linnaeus, 1758). 16 Aug. 2012 (N.R. Milbourne). On Burdock Arctium sp. at Holt Copse, with subsequent records.

Riponnensia Maibach, Goeldlin de Tiefenau & Speight, 1994

  • Riponnensia splendens (Meigen, 1822). 2013 (N.R. Milbourne).

Scaeva Fabricius, 1805

  • Scaeva pyrastri (Linnaeus, 1758), 2012 (N.R. Milbourne).

Sphaerophoria Le Peletier & Serville, 1828

  • Sphaerophoria interrupta (Fabricius, 1805). 2004 (D.J. Gibbs), 2012 (N.R. Milbourne).
  • Sphaerophoria scripta (Linnaeus, 1758). 2004 (D.J. Gibbs).

Syritta Le Peletier & Serville, 1828

  • Syritta pipiens (Linnaeus, 1758). 2001 (N.R. Milbourne).

Syrphus Fabricius, 1775

  • Syrphus ribesii (Linnaeus, 1758). 2010 (N.R. Milbourne).
  • Syrphus vitripennis Meigen 1822. 2013 (N.R. Milbourne).

Volucella Geoffroy, 1762

  • Volucella bombylans (Linnaeus, 1758). 2013 (N.R. Milbourne).
  • Volucella pellucens (Linnaeus, 1758). 2013 (N.R. Milbourne).
  • Volucella zonaria (Poda, 1761). 1 Aug 2017 (H. & N.R. Milbourne). Extremely rare. 2 records.

Xanthogramma Schiner, 1860

  • Xanthogramma pedissequum (Harris, 1776). 2000 (N.R. Milbourne).

Xylota Meigen, 1822

  • Xylota segnis (Linnaeus, 1758). 2013 (N.R. Milbourne).
  • Xylota sylvarum (Linnaeus, 1758). 2013 (N.R. Milbourne).

Total 58 spp.

 

Note 1: My male voucher specimen favours Melangyna compositarum using the key in Stubbs & Falk (2002), but they provided a caveat suggesting that M. compositarum / labiatarum is a contentious split that was being investigated at the time. Although both species are listed in the Hoverfly Recording Scheme checklist, so is the agg., and Ball and Morris (2013) write that the debate still continues today. My male specimen will need to be checked against other voucher specimens and if, and when, the validity of the taxonomic distinction is ascertained. We will probably not be able to identify the female specimen.

Key to abundance:

Extremely rare – five or less records

Very rare – twenty or less records

Rare – less than annual; many years between records

Very scarce – less than annual; typically every 2 or 3 years

Scarce – very small numbers virtually every year

Uncommon – recorded in low numbers each year.

Bibliography (sources of information):

  1. Dipterists Forum Hoverfly Recording Scheme
  2. Microsoft Word – BRITISH ISLES CHECKLIST April 2024 (dipterists.org.uk)

Last update: 25th September 2024