Messy eater

The devil's-bit scabious is in full flower at Trench Wood right now, and with the continuing warm weather keeping the numbers of nectar-feeding insects high, today it was in high demand. While this was good for my purposes in that it provided me with numerous subjects, it also meant that quite a few of my targets were bounced off their chosen flowers by rival diners before I could even press the shutter button.

I went to Trench this morning with two specific hoverfly targets in mind: last year I recorded several Rhingia rostrata and Ferdinandea cuprea in my own garden, but so far this year I hadn't seen either species, at home or anywhere else. I'm happy to say that I've now filled in those blanks on my year list, and I managed to capture decent photos of both targets. I also photographed one of two extremely fresh Painted Lady butterflies that were whizzing around the flowers in the meadow area, as well as a nice selection of other invertebrates. 

All in all I was spoiled for choice when it came to selecting a photo for today's post, but in cycling through the possibilities I kept finding myself pausing on this shot of a fresh male Eristalis intricaria. I like his saturnine elegance, and the way it's rather marred by all the scabious pollen he's wearing, and - even though it's not how I usually work when photographing insects - the selective focus I accidentally achieved, simply by being a little too close when I took the photo, works for me here as well.

Eristalis intricaria, sometimes called the Furry Dronefly, is one of the best bumblebee mimics on the British hoverfly list, though I guess you could make a case for the four Criorhina species being more convincing. It has a long flight season, potentially from March to November, with a small spring peak around April that takes advantage of flowering willows and fruit blossom, and a much larger peak around July. The summer brood are said to favour blue and purple flowers such as thistles and knapweed, as well as devil's-bit scabious. It's a common and widespread species, but favours damp sites such as poorly drained woodland, and grasslands that are prone to flooding. The larvae develop in ponds, drains, mud, and slurry, and are among the type commonly called rat tailed maggots - which gives me the perfect opportunity to invite you to read this article, and watch the fascinating underwater film it contains.