tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85578273606054188132024-03-05T19:57:11.504-08:00Northants DipteraDiptera are the true, or two-winged flies. They are a sadly neglected group but with over 7000 species in the UK, there are plenty of opportunities to study and record them.John Showershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762796411816027389noreply@blogger.comBlogger71125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8557827360605418813.post-22268054528202954112021-01-11T08:02:00.001-08:002021-01-11T08:02:18.523-08:002020 Overview<p>With all the Covid restrictions, it was a very slow year for Diptera recording. The Northants Diptera Group did not meet at all during the year, although individual members did do some recording on their local patches and a little more widely when restrictions were relaxed.</p><p>As mentioned in the April 2020 blog, the dotted bee-fly <i>Bombylius discolor </i>extended its range in Northants but I have had no further reports since the ones for Sywell Reservoir and the Daventry area. </p><p>With limited ability to get out, I worked through a lot of samples of flies taken in flight interception traps in 2018, and subsequently stored in alcohol. The traps had been set up primarily to find saproxylic beetles at Yardley Chase but I hoped some interesting saproxylic flies might also be present. Many of the specimens were in poor condition and not identifiable to species level and most of the ones I could identify were common species. However, one cranefly turned out to be Nationally Scarce - <i>Rhipidia uniseriata. </i>This is a saproxylic short-palped cranefly, family Limoniidae and this record is a county first. It was not in great condition but was clearly identifiable. The two attached photos show the key features.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOw7psCrLsjFM-nz3y82GmFmzBCT5COb14KSuoyW6hAxPSMcWDD0S4cF3CMnJRTGP36wmierWCp4Dn-hRD39_I_-dMCfCytpmnkAa9wtQGGVOe51rOaMAqdbKB9Ch4J7c6_-mPSchWi8Q/s2048/Rhipidia+uniseriata+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1538" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOw7psCrLsjFM-nz3y82GmFmzBCT5COb14KSuoyW6hAxPSMcWDD0S4cF3CMnJRTGP36wmierWCp4Dn-hRD39_I_-dMCfCytpmnkAa9wtQGGVOe51rOaMAqdbKB9Ch4J7c6_-mPSchWi8Q/s320/Rhipidia+uniseriata+4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Rhipidia uniseriata </i>Female showing the serrate antennal segments, the male has pectinate segments</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH2lfCloyvyTg7CMp0RFARmCWDZSNoJwJpWO6QOF8RE90aS0W_8gYORpD6EjiWvozbaZ27lgDgFsXiw4bpRye4nKl2EAi4VqhHm8TqKfBfWybkApykULOGeAJ8OFD2UOdCsUh3LK4A9Do/s2048/Rhipidia+uniseriata+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1538" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH2lfCloyvyTg7CMp0RFARmCWDZSNoJwJpWO6QOF8RE90aS0W_8gYORpD6EjiWvozbaZ27lgDgFsXiw4bpRye4nKl2EAi4VqhHm8TqKfBfWybkApykULOGeAJ8OFD2UOdCsUh3LK4A9Do/s320/Rhipidia+uniseriata+5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Rhipidia uniseriata </i>showing the wing blotching with no blotches close to the body</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Three locally scarce soldierflies were recorded during the year. <i>Stratiomys singularior, </i>the Flecked General, was swept at Yardley Chase (John Showers) and a second one was photographed at Summer Leys (Robin Gossage). This species is normally associated with saltmarsh but has been increasingly found inland in recent years. <i>Stratiomys longicornis, </i>the Long-horned General, was photographed near Daventry by Beatrix Jackson. This is only the second record from Northants and is another species associated with coastal marshes.. The third locally scarce soldierfly was <i>Odontomyia ornata, </i>the Ornate Brigadier. One was found as a larva on Yardley Chase and reared to adulthood by Graham Warnes and another was photographed in the Nene Valley by Robin Gossage. It is associated with coastal grazing marshes with water-filled ditches. It is interesting that all three species have been associated with coastal areas and that all three are being increasingly found inland. It may be that climate warming is allowing the species to tolerate a wider range of habitats. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_2jRiZGBhf6iOswHnAnwanzZITZ2w0qQcWpK1uDwF2QpguLZ7E8VGoYZECtOtNFHa6LhfSYZQBigO0lkA1X7tefJaF6L0vM-0rfeK3DXJTb7yOGK7G6ucLiedK8ILwNNEi-ZzhgJMxF8/s2048/Odontomyiaornata_freshoutofpupaecase_11062020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1366" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_2jRiZGBhf6iOswHnAnwanzZITZ2w0qQcWpK1uDwF2QpguLZ7E8VGoYZECtOtNFHa6LhfSYZQBigO0lkA1X7tefJaF6L0vM-0rfeK3DXJTb7yOGK7G6ucLiedK8ILwNNEi-ZzhgJMxF8/s320/Odontomyiaornata_freshoutofpupaecase_11062020.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Odontomyia ornata, </i>the Ornate Brigadier (Graham Warnes)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Yardley Chase also provided a record of the long-bodied cranefly <i>Diogma glabrata </i>(Family Cylindrotomidae). The species breeds in moss in damp woodland. This is only the third record for Northants. Also at Yardley Chase a search of a recently cleared pond in October resulted in finding a colony of the short-palped cranefly (Family Limoniidae) <i>Erioconopa diuturna. </i>This is another county first. Although the species is widespread in Britain, its late flight season and tendency to prefer higher, wet pastureland, probably means it is overlooked.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So, despite the restrictions caused by the lock-down, the season was not a complete write-off. I look forward to the warmer months and easing of restrictions so that we can get out and continue to find and record interesting species throughout the county.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p>John Showershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762796411816027389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8557827360605418813.post-14038809474341970792020-04-21T03:07:00.001-07:002020-04-21T03:07:59.336-07:00April 2020With the current lock-down, fly recording has been pretty slow. However a few lucky folk have seen dotted bee-fly <i>Bombylius discolor </i>on their local patch this year. Sites where it has been recorded are mainly in the South-west of the county within the range of last year’s records. However one significant change is a record from the Mears Ashby end of Sywell Reservoir by Jim Dunkerly. This is much further North and East of all the other sightings and may indicate a further range expansion.<br />
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On a personal basis, I have recorded very little this year outside of my garden. I did photograph a <i>Cheilosia vernalis </i>on the edge of an overgrown ironstone quarry near my house. All the bee-flies I have seen have been dark-edged but still hoping.John Showershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762796411816027389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8557827360605418813.post-83638436882710271762019-04-11T09:22:00.002-07:002019-04-11T09:22:49.770-07:00April 2019Since the report of dotted bee-fly <i>Bombylius discolor </i>from Tim Pridmore at Farthinghoe, he has seen another at the other end of the reserve. Also David James has reported one from Salcey Forest and Kate Colles has sent me a photo of one from her garden at Upper Boddington. Chris Colles has sent me a photo of one from Upper Boddington churchyard taken on 19th April 2018, making it the first record for the county. Clearly the species is established in the south-west of the county b ut how far north has it reached? Keep a look out. I have not found it yet at Pitsford Water or Yardley Chase.John Showershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762796411816027389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8557827360605418813.post-16212623404758453692019-03-30T11:54:00.002-07:002019-03-30T11:54:58.770-07:00March 2019March is usually when dipterists become active again outside and start looking for those early flying flies. Several reports of early Marmalade Hoverflies Episyrphus balteatus have been received. Also the daffodil leaf-mining scathophagid Norellia spinipes has been seen at several locations. The dark-edged bee-fly Bombylius major really got going on 24th March and has been reported regularly from around the county. However more records are needed as it helps us track not only where it can be found but when it is on the wing.<br />
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Today (30th March) I received an email from Tim Pridmore, the warden at Farthinghoe Nature Reserve. He saw and photographed the much scarcer Dotted Bee-fly Bombylius discolor at the reserve. This is almost certainly the first record for Northants. In flight the two species are almost indistinguishable but when perched the dotted wings are quite clearly different from the dark leading edge of the dark-edged bee-fly. Tim kindly sent me the photo he took and gave me permission to place it here. So make sure you get a good look at bee-flies as there might be more about.<br />
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Dotted Bee-fly Bombylius discolor at Farthinghoe Nature Reserve. Copyright Tim Pridmore 2019<br />
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<br />John Showershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762796411816027389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8557827360605418813.post-17582992688340229892018-12-05T13:56:00.001-08:002018-12-05T13:56:41.501-08:00Spring 2018I apologise for not posting anything here for some time. Very remiss of me. After a cold and wet start to the Spring we moved into a period of warm weather before things started to get very warm and dry. Generally British flies like mild dampish conditions and do not cope well in either the cold and wet or in prolonged hot, dry conditions so this year has been a mixed bag from a recording point of view.<br />
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The warm weather in May and June did produce a large emergence of our local comb-horned craneflies <i>Dictenidia bimaculata </i>and <i>Ctenophora pectinicornis.</i> In most years I get one or two records of these species at best but this Spring I had records from new sites and a very large emergence at Yardley Chase. They have the common name "comb-horned" as the males have antennae which bear two rows of branches, like the teeth of combs. The cranefly larvae live in rotting wood in mature trees, often high up in branches. The adults are occasionally seen near the ground after emergence. The comb-horned antennae are thought to be an adaptation to allow the males to find females by detecting their pheromones. In the tree canopy sensitive detectors would be needed to find a mate.<br />
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The reason for the sudden increase in records is probably down to the tendency for these insects to emerge in warm conditions.<br />
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<i>Dictenidia bimaculata</i> male showing the "comb-horned" antennae<br />
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<i>Ctenophora pectinicornis</i> female. This mimics a wasp but the projecting spike at the end of the abdomen is harmless. It is the ovipositor for laying eggs.<br />
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Neither species is very common. They are best looked for near ancient trees with rotten branches in woods or parks on warm days in late May and June. They often rest on tree trunks or nearby vegetation. Photos of them with details of location and date would help us find more sites for them. There are a few other comb-horned craneflies in Britain, some are extremely rare, so do try to photograph any you may come across. Photos can be posted on the Facebook WILDside Project Group.John Showershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762796411816027389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8557827360605418813.post-37287842849681044502018-04-08T23:39:00.001-07:002018-04-11T14:13:12.489-07:00Diptera Identification WorkshopsThere are two workshops coming up that may be of interest to dipterists.<div><br></div><div><blockquote type="cite" cite="mid:CE52019E8DDB4758B685CD871392427F@SchultmayPC"><div dir="ltr"><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font><font><a dir="ltr" href="x-apple-data-detectors://3" x-apple-data-detectors="true" x-apple-data-detectors-type="calendar-event" x-apple-data-detectors-result="3">On Saturday, 12th May</a>, John and Barbara Ismay and Jann Billker hold an Acalyptrate Clinic in the Collections area of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. It is from <a dir="ltr" href="x-apple-data-detectors://4" x-apple-data-detectors="true" x-apple-data-detectors-type="calendar-event" x-apple-data-detectors-result="4">10 am</a> to late afternoon. They will help you with the identification of Acalyptrata families (Diptera) to family level and many of these to genus or species. Please bring a few specimens that you find difficult or would like confirmed. The clinic is restricted to a maximum of 8 participants, so please let John and Barbara Ismay (</font></font><font><a moz-do-not-send="true"></a><a dir="ltr" href="mailto:schultmay@insectsrus.co.uk" x-apple-data-detectors="true" x-apple-data-detectors-type="link" x-apple-data-detectors-result="5">schultmay@insectsrus.co.uk</a></font><font><font> ) know if you would like to come. It would also be useful if you could let them know which families you are interested in. They will also bring some draft keys to smaller families that you could use.</font></font></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font><font><br></font></font></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font><font><br></font></font></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font><font>I shall be holding a workshop at Pitsford Water on Sunday 22nd April. This will consist of identification of pre-pinned specimens and some field work. The balance will depend on the weather and attendees preferences. This is part of the WILDside project and attendees should contact Ryan Clark at the Northants Biodiversity Records Centre to book a place. The aim is to provide people who have already attended a fly identification workshop some practice as the season gets started.</font></font></span></p></div></div></blockquote></div>John Showershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762796411816027389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8557827360605418813.post-50085816781788008812017-09-16T03:11:00.002-07:002017-09-16T03:11:57.759-07:00Mid September 2017The cool, wet weather of late has not been great for fly hunting. However, there seems to be more fungi about in the woods and this could be good for those flies that breed in the fruiting bodies of fungi. There are several families of flies that do this and some are fairly elusive as adults. Platypezidae is a family that I hardly ever come across so I will be looking out for these over the next few weeks. One way of finding them is to collect some fungus and keep it in a box with ventilation and see what emerges. Apart from flies a number of saproxylic beetles may emerge.<br />
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I briefly visited Pitsford Water, Holcot Bay yesterday to look for suitable sites for a fly identification workshop tomorrow. The workshop is one of a series that the <a href="http://www.northantsbrc.org.uk/" target="_blank">Northants Biodivesity Records Centre</a> is running under its WILDside Project. The project is aimed at encouraging more people to submit records of wildlife to the centre and to develop skills for the next generation of recorders.<br />
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Before I was driven off by a heavy shower I noted some flowering ivy, always a good nectar source at this time of year. Two attractive hoverflies were visiting the flowers - <i>Myathropa florea</i> and <i>Volucella zonaria</i>. The latter is our largest hoverfly and has the common name of hornet hoverfly because of its close resemblance to and association with hornets. It only arrived in Northants in the mid 2000's but is now reported quite frequently, especially from gardens growing Buddleja.<br />
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<i>Volucella zonaria </i>Pitsford Water 15/9/2017</div>
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Distribution of <i>Volucella zonaria </i>in Northants by end of 2015. </div>
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Map kindly supplied by Stuart Ball of the <a href="http://hoverfly.org.uk/" target="_blank">UK Hoverfly Recording Scheme.</a></div>
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Whilst at Pitsford I examined the trunks of poplars, especially those that had been felled, looking for flies associated with rotting sap. I did not find any on the trunks but sweeping adjacent foliage produced two specimens of the cranefly <i>Gnophomyia viridipennis. </i>The larvae of this fly live in the sap layer and especially favour poplar. The adult is distinctive as it is one of the few all black craneflies and has bright yellow halters. There were no records in modern Northants up to last year, although it had been recorded in the Peterborough area of Vice-county 32, the historical area of Northants. I found it last year at a log pile in Sulby and had found it on the Holcot Bay poplar log earlier this year. So yesterday's find was the third county record.</div>
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<i>Gnophomyia viridipennis </i>on a Sycamore leaf, Pitsford Water, 15/9/2017</div>
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The UK distribution map can be found on the NBN Atlas here: <a href="https://species.nbnatlas.org/species/NBNSYS0000008180">https://species.nbnatlas.org/species/NBNSYS0000008180</a></div>
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<br />John Showershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762796411816027389noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8557827360605418813.post-33926494936261187162017-08-21T09:52:00.001-07:002017-08-21T09:52:41.886-07:00Water Quality Surveys for Citizen Scientists<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I received the following email today. I know some dipterists have taken part and it is really easy. If you are interested in finding out more or taking part just follow the links. Many diptera species are aquatic in their larval stages. Some are very tolerant of high levels of pollution, for example Eristalis hoverfly larvae feed on bacteria in polluted water and have the 'rat-tail' breathing syphon that allows them to breathe fresh air whilst remaining in oxygen depleted water. On the other hand some soldierfly larvae are very sensitive to water quality and can be eliminated from a site by even minor pollution.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> Good Morning,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><o:p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I’m writing to you from the Freshwater Habitats Trust to request your help to find clean unpolluted ponds, streams and ditches where wildlife can thrive.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Through our citizen science survey, Clean Water for Wildlife, we are supplying volunteers with simple kits that rapidly measure the water quality of local ponds, streams and ditches. Through the survey we hope to build a map of water quality across the country, find amazing clean (unpolluted) freshwater habitats where wildlife can thrive and to raise awareness of the true extent of nutrient pollution. Would you be able to help promote the survey to your group members? I hope this is something that is of interest. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Why is the survey important?<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Clean unpolluted water supports rich and diverse communities of freshwater plants and animals, including many of our now rarest species. It is often the best indicator of a thriving waterbody. Despite its importance very little is known about the water quality in most freshwater habitats, particularly in our smaller waters. Until recently it was only possible to measure water quality through expensive laboratory tests, now with simple kits it takes just a few minutes. With new technology it is now possible to fill in the gaps in our knowledge and it presents an opportunity to find many more really special clean waters where wildlife can flourish.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The kits<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The kits rapidly measure the levels of two widespread nutrients pollutants, nitrate and phosphate, and can be used in all type of freshwater habitats (garden ponds, ditches, streams, fens, rivers and more). With these quick kits people can now actively participant in current scientific research into water quality and help to discover clean water habitats where wildlife can thrive. You can see the kits in action in our short ‘How to Video’ (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63teHzPeX4M&t=4s">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63teHzPeX4M&t=4s</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">For more information please visit <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><font color="#000000"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><a href="http://freshwaterhabitats.org.uk/projects/clean-water/">http://freshwaterhabitats.org.uk/projects/clean-water/</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Kind regards,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Hannah<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><o:p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><b>Hannah Worker<br>Freshwater Habitats Trust Project Assistant</b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">(Please note I work on several projects and may be away from my desk for periods of time. This may mean there is a delay in my response)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><font color="#000000"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><a dir="ltr" href="tel:07741495682" x-apple-data-detectors="true" x-apple-data-detectors-type="telephone" x-apple-data-detectors-result="2/0">07741495682</a><br><a href="http://www.freshwaterhabitats.org.uk/" target="_blank">www.freshwaterhabitats.org.uk </a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Freshwater Habitats Trust, 1<sup>st</sup> Floor, Bury Knowle House, North Place, Headington, Oxford, OX3 9HY<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">You can also follow us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pond-Conservation/185490232363" target="_blank">facebook</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/PondRiverStream" target="_blank">twitter</a> or sign up for our newsletter <a href="http://freshwaterhabitats.org.uk/get-involved-2/ripples/">Ripples</a> or <a href="http://freshwaterhabitats.org.uk/research/research-policy-news/">Research & Policy News</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><b>Freshwater wildlife needs you. <a href="http://www.freshwaterhabitats.org.uk/get-involved-2/support-us/">Support us</a> today.</b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Registered Charity No. <a dir="ltr" href="tel:1107708" x-apple-data-detectors="true" x-apple-data-detectors-type="telephone" x-apple-data-detectors-result="3">1107708</a>, A Company registered in England No. <a dir="ltr" href="tel:5317683" x-apple-data-detectors="true" x-apple-data-detectors-type="telephone" x-apple-data-detectors-result="4">5317683</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><o:p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </o:p></p>John Showershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762796411816027389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8557827360605418813.post-83209591757746946142017-04-21T09:55:00.000-07:002017-04-21T09:55:07.638-07:00April 2017The season is now well underway. Bee-flies have been seen regularly around the county. My earliest record was on the 29th March in Rothwell but Graham Warnes saw them the previous week in Northampton. In Northants we only have the one species of bee-fly, the dark-edged bee-fly <i>Bombylius major. </i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhawZ9kZ2GYhp2A8oTlZFlI84yOVPCvVtrV55YlB9J2FOXqatdTkqtZ16S_E0tQ85I2fGXpVH0h3eBGebrAoc-Va_DUw33SgSKOs7xym7jKUpzQ_0Nuo9ylq1FohpfmsIHM8B3otvIRaws/s1600/DSC00081.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhawZ9kZ2GYhp2A8oTlZFlI84yOVPCvVtrV55YlB9J2FOXqatdTkqtZ16S_E0tQ85I2fGXpVH0h3eBGebrAoc-Va_DUw33SgSKOs7xym7jKUpzQ_0Nuo9ylq1FohpfmsIHM8B3otvIRaws/s320/DSC00081.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Bombylius major </i>(c) John Showers</div>
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Two other species may yet occur in Northants. The spotted bee-fly <i>Bombylius discolor </i>is expanding its range northwards. It has a dotted pattern on the wings rather than the intense dark front edge of <i>B. major.</i> The anthracite bee-fly <i>Anthrax anthrax </i>was found for the first time in Britain in Cambridgeshire last year. This latter species has been expanding its range in Europe and regularly visits bee hotels where it parasitizes the guests!</div>
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Although it is still rather cold, the dry and often sunny conditions at present create microclimates in sheltered areas and these are good places to find hoverflies, especially if there are nectar sources present. A walk round West Lodge Farm near Desborough on 19th April revealed 9 species of hoverfly. I managed to photograph a few and have attached the photos below together with the species distribution map up to the end of 2015 for Vice-county 32 - Northamptonshire and the Soke of Peterborough (historical Northants). The maps were supplied by Stuart Ball who jointly runs the UK Hoverfly Recording Scheme with Roger Morris. My thanks go to them for supply the maps and encouraging the study of hoverflies. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg08cmPBfdmtc7nHqHceNjiU1Y3r_kIniApXIikRvufHMFL9A4o1FzUIyHDsruICYQz0Owkj75oyVKA9L8k0fQJksPhP5WY6hQXQy2kXii3m3s1Oem0poBnah5zdDLsE5qn4kWSKpFQyYI/s1600/DSC00147+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg08cmPBfdmtc7nHqHceNjiU1Y3r_kIniApXIikRvufHMFL9A4o1FzUIyHDsruICYQz0Owkj75oyVKA9L8k0fQJksPhP5WY6hQXQy2kXii3m3s1Oem0poBnah5zdDLsE5qn4kWSKpFQyYI/s320/DSC00147+%25282%2529.JPG" width="248" /></a></div>
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<i>Rhingia campestris </i>the Heineken Hoverfly on red campion (c) John Showers</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvJTLNplIz8IToagxMklQHuzMoGAEcFT2yr13pTXgFzqt4_XK5gExqsp1w2qpVvP4C9DmzmfEQWaaoYcYdyUU7-aZsHI4S4yDE9V7Q1I7OrKi-3dGZ2H4GtXLsNgzJzjwSag9hjD9uLk0/s1600/Rhingia_campestris.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvJTLNplIz8IToagxMklQHuzMoGAEcFT2yr13pTXgFzqt4_XK5gExqsp1w2qpVvP4C9DmzmfEQWaaoYcYdyUU7-aZsHI4S4yDE9V7Q1I7OrKi-3dGZ2H4GtXLsNgzJzjwSag9hjD9uLk0/s320/Rhingia_campestris.png" width="180" /></a></div>
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(c) Stuart Ball</div>
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<i>Cheilosia illustrata, </i>a bumblebee mimic (c) John Showers</div>
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(c) Stuart Ball</div>
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<i>Epistrophe eligans, </i>a typical Spring species of woodland edges (c) John Showers</div>
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(c) Stuart Ball</div>
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<i>Eristalis pertinax, </i>a common species whose rat-tailed larvae live in wet conditions (c) John Showers</div>
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(c) Stuart Ball</div>
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As you can see from the maps, these are widespread species. The gaps probably reflect lack of recording effort rather than real gaps in the distributions.</div>
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In addition to hoverflies I did find a number of other interesting flies:</div>
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The parasitic fly (Family - Tachinidae) <i>Gymnochaeta viridis. </i>A Spring species whose larvae parasitise grass stem-boring Noctuid moth caterpillars. (c) John Showers</div>
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The long-palped cranefly (Family - Tipulidae) <i>Tipula varipennis. </i>A common Spring species. </div>
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John Showershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762796411816027389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8557827360605418813.post-83091065856951205362017-03-13T13:54:00.001-07:002017-03-13T13:54:23.234-07:00Norellia spinipesToday I was looking for my first beeflies of the year on primroses but failed to find any. However I also looked at some clumps of naturalised daffodils on the roadside at Blatherwycke. The first few clumps had nothing on them but then one clump had six small, brown flies that I suspected were <i>Norellia</i> <i>spinipes, </i>a dung fly, Scathophagidae. These lay their eggs on daffodil leaves and the larvae mine the midrib of the leaf, leaving a characteristic pale line where they have been. I took one specimen home and confirmed its identity. A picture of the species can be found here:<div><a href="http://www.diptera.info/forum/viewthread.php?thread_id=34284&pid=152310">http://www.diptera.info/forum/viewthread.php?thread_id=34284&pid=152310</a></div><div><br></div><div>More information is available on the British Scathophagidae Recording Scheme website here:</div><div><a href="http://scathophagidae.myspecies.info/scathophagid-checklist/norellia-spinipes">http://scathophagidae.myspecies.info/scathophagid-checklist/norellia-spinipes</a></div><div><br></div><div>The species status is notable but that is likely to change as it seems to be increasing. It is probably an introduced species, coming in on imported bulbs. The first UK records were in 1965. </div><div><br></div><div>I would be interested in hearing from others who have found it in Northants. It is fairly easy to identify, having the rounded head typical of a Scathophagid, brown body with dark thoracic stripes; two rows of spines below the front femora and one row below the front tibia, giving a mantis-like appearance. It has dark shading over the cross veins and wing tip but this shading can be very feint. Look for it on daffodil leaves where daffodils are well established such as in parks, mature gardens and roadside verges.</div>John Showershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762796411816027389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8557827360605418813.post-35740878098211362762017-02-16T08:13:00.001-08:002017-02-16T08:13:44.852-08:00First hoverflies of year in Northants?I received an email today from Lisa at the Wildlife Trust at Lings House, Northampton to say she had seen a marmalade hoverfly <i>Episyrphus balteatus </i>there. <div><br><div>Coincidentally, <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">I too saw my first hoverfly of the year today. It was a drone fly </span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Eristalis tenax</i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> in Sane Copse, Yardley Chase. I am sure this mild spell will bring more out. </span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Meliscaeva auricollis </i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">is another species that overwinters as an adult so can be found once we have some mild, sunny spells.</span><br><div><div><br></div><div>The winter months are the time to catch up with unidentified specimens from the previous season and I have been doing just that. Two less common species have turned up in the samples I looked at this week. One was a long-legged fly <i>Dolichopodidae, </i>found at Ditchford Lakes and Meadows in early July. The species was <i>Poecilobothrus principalis. </i>The closely related <i>P. nobilitatus </i>is a very common doli fly where the males display to the females on pondweed by flicking open their white-tipped dark wings and hopping from one side of the female to the other. <i>P. principalis </i>is much scarcer as can be seen from the NBN Gateway map - <a href="https://data.nbn.org.uk/Taxa/NBNSYS0000012641/Grid_Map" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">https://data.nbn.org.uk/Taxa/NBNSYS0000012641/Grid_Map</a></div><div>It seems to be a coastal species from the map but a number of primarily coastal species have been found in the Nene Valley.</div><div><br></div><div>The second uncommon species was the Scathophagid fly <i>Cordilura aemula. </i>Details of the species can be found on Stuart Ball's excellent Scathophagidae Recording Scheme website at <a href="http://scathophagidae.myspecies.info/scathophagid-checklist/cordilura-aemula" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">http://scathophagidae.myspecies.info/scathophagid-checklist/cordilura-aemula</a></div><div>This was found at Abington Meadows, Northampton in September. Its distribution is mapped here <a href="https://data.nbn.org.uk/Taxa/NBNSYS0000030370/Grid_Map" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">https://data.nbn.org.uk/Taxa/NBNSYS0000030370/Grid_Map</a></div><div><br></div><div>I still have quite a few flies to identify from last year so I am hoping to turn up some more interesting species.</div><div><br></div></div></div></div>John Showershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762796411816027389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8557827360605418813.post-34232800810891891972016-12-02T10:50:00.001-08:002016-12-02T11:10:12.289-08:00Another new Cranefly for NorthantsIn mid-September I was sweeping under some willows next to a dried up pond in a former sand pit near Yardley Hastings when I took a small insignificant-looking cranefly. Back at home I keyed it out as a male <i>Ormosia bicornis. </i>On checking its distribution and status, I discovered that this is a Vulnerable (RDB2) species mainly recorded from calcareous woodland in Herefordshire. Its known distribution is shown on the NBN gateway:<div><a href="https://data.nbn.org.uk/Taxa/NBNSYS0000008236/Grid_Map">https://data.nbn.org.uk/Taxa/NBNSYS0000008236/Grid_Map</a></div><div><br></div><div>As neither the location nor the habitat matched the literature, and with the scarce status of the species, I asked for a second opinion from John Kramer, who helps run the national cranefly recording scheme. John took the specimen and extracted and cleared the genitalia. He mounted the genitalia on a slide and photographed them at the Natural History Museum in London. I have attached his photograph. It shows the characteristic twin spines on the styles that give it its "bicornis" name. These spines are at the top left and top right of the photo? The specimen now resides in the NHM's collection.<div><br></div><div>Photo by John Kramer, 2016<br><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjee543SJ1q3FNnMpN5_GQQ_eH1n0SHTMBVEdebq8saD8VTLHMj4tfRCRlh6cOwGhV4azcmKtXDFieiSspgsv0o9xtYxvDq2By62Ry3CdbGlV7FUzRf3CQiE0iwNMEmw41eZ9jjh5wSiuY/s640/blogger-image--1971094306.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjee543SJ1q3FNnMpN5_GQQ_eH1n0SHTMBVEdebq8saD8VTLHMj4tfRCRlh6cOwGhV4azcmKtXDFieiSspgsv0o9xtYxvDq2By62Ry3CdbGlV7FUzRf3CQiE0iwNMEmw41eZ9jjh5wSiuY/s640/blogger-image--1971094306.jpg"></a></div><br></div></div></div>John Showershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762796411816027389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8557827360605418813.post-91987808949319945782016-11-12T11:04:00.001-08:002016-11-12T11:04:11.183-08:00Flies and Dead WoodMany flies from a several families breed in various forms of dead wood. These microhabitats can range from the rotting sap under the bark of a felled tree, through rot holes in the trunk and larger branches or rot holes in the roots accessible at the base of a tree, to dead wood lying in streams or wet places. Added to this are the fungi that grow in these situations that provide habitat for other species. When a mature wood is clear-felled there can be a break in the continuity of these habitats. In natural woodland there is a range of tree ages from saplings to over-mature and dead trees. Many of our rarest flies are dependent on dead wood and, as most only have a short life-cycle, a population can be lost when woodland is cleared. Re-planting does not help as it will take maybe 50 plus years to start to develop the next population of dead wood, long after the dependent species have died out. Where new woods are established near ancient woodland, some people are trying to artificially create dead wood habitats through a variety of means. Some techniques are illustrated on the website of the Vetree project:<br />
www.vetree.eu<br />
See the link to training materials and look for the video on creating decaying wood habitats. It might be possible to emulate some of these techniques in the garden.<br />
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On the subject of dead wood, this year has thrown up some interesting records from felled poplar. During a Northants Diptera Group meeting at Pitsford Nature Reserve, Kev Rowley swept <i>Solva marginata</i> (the Drab Wood-soldierfly) from near a felled poplar. This wood-soldierfly has been rarely reported in Northants, except in the far North-east of the county. Its larvae develop in the rotting sap of poplars that have been felled for about 1-2 years. This record shows that it is more widely spread in Northants than appears to be the case from the NBN Gateway <a href="https://data.nbn.org.uk/Taxa/NBNSYS0000007844/Grid_Map">https://data.nbn.org.uk/Taxa/NBNSYS0000007844/Grid_Map</a><br />
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Encouraged by Kev's find I investigated a poplar log pile in Sulby. I could not find any wood-soldierflies but did sweep a number of flies from the surrounding vegetation. When I got round to examining my catch I found the lance fly <i>Lonchaea hackmanni </i>and the short-palped cranefly <i>Gnophomyia viridipennis.</i> Both of these species are associated with poplar and may be new to the current Northants county. (Vice-county 32 includes the former Northants area of the Soke of Peterborough).John Showershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762796411816027389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8557827360605418813.post-39643032292776543662016-10-11T12:40:00.001-07:002016-10-11T12:41:53.745-07:00New cranefly for NorthantsOn 5th October I was visiting Sulby Gardens, mainly to look for hoverflies. However, as I was walking alongside the shady stream I swept the vegetation. I took several common species of cranefly but one stood out as different because of its peculiar appendages on the last sternite. I keyed it out to be a male <i>Tipula staegeri, </i>subgenus <i>Savtshenkia. </i>The NBN gateway shows it as being widespread except in the Midlands. I sent a photo to John Kramer from the national Cranefly Recording Scheme and he confirmed its identity and that they had no records of it from Northants. It is an easy species to identify in the male because of the appendages on the last sternite, slightly mottled wings and a yellowish stigma. It is found alongside shady streams from late September to mid November.<div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYwzgRx49OHa28wO8IQOyGWBVO1IoCMcIE8G-_tGf0mU6ij6osTSRl6yQaLJiVcDCOy1hI99rLexM_YHwtSGps1ndbpHzHgcLAqjPYrjQK7A-M_xLxSRY5bc4LSaxMDrUrGOqcbQ_XgCM/s640/blogger-image--1549476042.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYwzgRx49OHa28wO8IQOyGWBVO1IoCMcIE8G-_tGf0mU6ij6osTSRl6yQaLJiVcDCOy1hI99rLexM_YHwtSGps1ndbpHzHgcLAqjPYrjQK7A-M_xLxSRY5bc4LSaxMDrUrGOqcbQ_XgCM/s640/blogger-image--1549476042.jpg"></a></div><br></div>John Showershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762796411816027389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8557827360605418813.post-3475106595123309922016-10-11T10:49:00.001-07:002016-10-11T12:29:12.693-07:00Shropshire CranefliesAt first sight the title seems to be irrelevant to this blog. However, it is the title of a new book by Pete Boardman. Although it specifically covers Shropshire and only the craneflies found there, there is much of interest to anyone who wants to know our craneflies better. One of the features of the book is the use of a synoptic key rather than the usual dichotomous key. This involves looking at a list of features, each of which is assigned a letter. By noting the letters that apply to your specimen you look up a table of species with those features. The detailed species descriptions and close up photos should then be able to confirm your determination. As yet I have not yet tried the keys so cannot comment on their effectiveness. However I have successfully used the species descriptions and photographs to confirm identifications where the Cranefly Recording Scheme's keys left me with some doubt. The photos, which are annoted, definitely clarify interpretation of the drawings in the CRS key. <div><br></div><div>The book contains a checklist of British genera, showing how many species there are in the UK and Shropshire and giving the latest names. There is also a checklist of species. I checked this against the Northants data and found one species from Northants that is not covered in the book. I intend to check that species is correct if I can find the voucher. Although there may be other species that occur in Northants but not in Shropshire, there is no doubt that the book will be very useful to cranefly enthusiasts in Northants.</div><div><br></div><div>I did notice a few minor errors but none that affected the usefulness of the book so I highly recommend it. An excellent piece of work.</div>John Showershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762796411816027389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8557827360605418813.post-65526700500998572712016-10-06T14:41:00.001-07:002016-10-06T14:41:12.749-07:00Dipterists Forum produce video to promote study of fliesDipterists Forum, the society for the study of flies have produced this video to encourage more people to get involved<div><font color="#000000" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><a dir="ltr" href="https://vimeo.com/185680908" x-apple-data-detectors="true" x-apple-data-detectors-type="link" x-apple-data-detectors-result="3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">https://vimeo.com/185680908</a></font></div><div><br></div>John Showershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762796411816027389noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8557827360605418813.post-84683574184848817402016-04-10T05:13:00.001-07:002016-04-10T05:13:35.756-07:00Early April 2016The cool, showery weather has not been great for searching for flies. Yesterday, we had a meeting at the Wildlife Trust's Ring Haw field station as a follow-up to Roger Morris and Stuart Ball's workshop on fly families, held in January at Cambourne. Seven of us attended plus Roger and Stuart. Although the weather was cool and breezy we did manage to do some field work. The plan was to practice some collecting techniques and then identify the finds down to family level or lower if possible. In all we found representatives of 22 families, with representatives of Nematocera, lower Brachycera, Acalypterates and Calypterates present. One special find was a hovering male <i>Cheilosia nebulosa </i>over the old railway track. This was almost the exact place that Graham Warnes found one a couple of years ago. The session went very well and I think everyone felt they had gained from the experience.<i></i>John Showershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762796411816027389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8557827360605418813.post-39696328595239270912016-03-28T11:21:00.001-07:002016-03-28T11:59:33.234-07:00March 2016With the cold weather of late, there have been very few flies other than midges about. I have used the time to identify all my Northants specimens for last year. There were just over 2400 records of flies in Northants from all sources. This brings the Northants database to just over 20,000 records. I shall be doing some more analysis of data when weather conditions prevent active recording.<div><br></div><div>The good weather on Good Friday brought out the first hoverfly in my garden. A single drone fly <i>Eristalis tenax was </i>holding territory in a sunny patch over my lawn. It also brought out the first dark-edged beefly <i>Bombylius major.</i> Both these species should soon become frequent as the weather warms up. </div><div><br></div><div>At Yardley Hastings Sand Pit on 17th March a single, large, very active fly was spotted on low vegetation. It turned out to be a parasitic fly (family Tachinidae) <i>Gonia picea. </i>This fly is a parasioid of the larvae of the antler moth.</div><div><br></div><div>With poor weather for searching for adult flies, I have been looking at leaf mines. The fly mines I have noted during the month were:</div><div><i>Chromatomyia aprilina </i>on honeysuckle</div><div><i>Chromatomyia primulae </i>on primrose</div><div><i>Phytomyza ranunculi </i>on lesser celandine.</div><div><br></div><div>Most intriguing was a mine on a shrub in the Orangery at Castle Ashby Gardens. The plant was labelled <i>Jasminium wallinderium </i>but I have been unable to trace the causer. Both David Manning and I took sample leaves to try to rear out an adult but mine is looking decidedly dead. The following is a photo of the mystery mine.</div><div><br></div><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxSk7UbMmyPYH9zDKF2XLzyWGyFLljoYxQv0d64zfdxHgSTKf6XJDBKe1tz0oYvjfnw6IAyCjtmxnTLXSf6Ar5HW7KCWPSNMI1cmN4yZsbhK2Uuut9YtXHavansHl18ukNVZwUDPYHPP0/s640/blogger-image--1587384556.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxSk7UbMmyPYH9zDKF2XLzyWGyFLljoYxQv0d64zfdxHgSTKf6XJDBKe1tz0oYvjfnw6IAyCjtmxnTLXSf6Ar5HW7KCWPSNMI1cmN4yZsbhK2Uuut9YtXHavansHl18ukNVZwUDPYHPP0/s640/blogger-image--1587384556.jpg"></a></div>John Showershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762796411816027389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8557827360605418813.post-73993931720051852872016-02-12T08:57:00.001-08:002016-02-12T08:57:56.290-08:00Flies on fungusA number of species of fly are associated with fungi. The larvae of many species from several families live in the fruiting bodies. However some species of fungi use flies to spread their spores. This is the case with the stinkhorns. When the fruiting body bursts through its sac, it sends up a stem which is tipped with a foul-smelling "gleba". Flies that are attracted to carrion or dung are attracted to the gleba and then carry off the spores to spread the fungus. David Arden found a stinkhorn at Pitsford Reserve near the Walgrave bird hide and photographed it. The photograph shows how effective the gleba is at attracting flies. In the photo, the chestnut coloured flies with black spots on the wings are Members of the Dryomyzid family, <i>Neuroctena analis. </i>The flies with grey thoraxes and yellow abdomens are members of the Muscid family, probably <i>Phaonia </i>species.<div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqwKvPk2eUkDZ4X8IW1tDTEqKFwga78E7z9bBIYQNYZQ1n9tmMIrbpTGnixyIF1TbGs2u5zUTXZ36VQEbbzlMLLsR0qwTg3d1X_BGcYc5dn9G4Bo-PeZBGCMZj1nGU6bMsrj7G3_J4dhE/s640/blogger-image-1422483434.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqwKvPk2eUkDZ4X8IW1tDTEqKFwga78E7z9bBIYQNYZQ1n9tmMIrbpTGnixyIF1TbGs2u5zUTXZ36VQEbbzlMLLsR0qwTg3d1X_BGcYc5dn9G4Bo-PeZBGCMZj1nGU6bMsrj7G3_J4dhE/s640/blogger-image-1422483434.jpg"></a></div>(C) David Arden, 2015</div>John Showershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762796411816027389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8557827360605418813.post-49996273755540106462016-01-31T12:55:00.000-08:002016-01-31T12:55:16.054-08:00Another Cistogaster globosaToday I was going through some specimens I caught last summer when I found a female <i>Cistogaster globosa. </i>I took it in the Whitestones area of Twywell nature reserve on 26th July 2015. This is the third county record, and each is from a different site. However they all have the following in common:<br />
- previously quarried area<br />
- rich flora<br />
- dry conditions allowing the soil to heat up quickly.<br />
This specimen was a female. It is similar in shape and size to the male illustrated in the previous blog but the abdomen is plain black.John Showershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762796411816027389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8557827360605418813.post-86651543812402037722015-12-19T05:38:00.001-08:002015-12-19T05:38:16.518-08:00The Parasitic Fly Cistogaster globosa in Northants<i>Cistogaster globosa </i>is a small but distinctive parasitic fly (Family Tachinidae) that is currently at its northern range limit in Northants. We have two records of it:<br />
- a female at Bradlaugh Fields, Northampton in May 2011<br />
- a male near Yardley Hastings in September 2015<br />
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Its main stronghold is the chalk of Berkshire and Wiltshire but it does pop up from time to time in other parts of south-east England. It is a parasitoid of the Bishop's Mitre Shieldbug <i>Aelia acuminata</i>. The two sites where it has been found in Northants are both flower-rich grasslands with fairly hot and dry soil conditions. It would be useful to see if this species occurs in similar habitats in other parts of Northants, particularly more northern sites as it might be expanding its range. Its current distribution can be found here:<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://data.nbn.org.uk/Taxa/NBNSYS0000030028/Grid_Map">https://data.nbn.org.uk/Taxa/NBNSYS0000030028/Grid_Map</a><br />
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<i>Cistogaster globosa </i>male. The female is is similar in shape and size but does not have the golden markings.</div>
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<br /></span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />John Showershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762796411816027389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8557827360605418813.post-29512386205964345692015-07-09T14:21:00.001-07:002015-07-09T14:36:58.890-07:00May 2015A very belated summary for May. The weather was often cool or breezy and numbers seemed to be well down on previous years. However a few interesting flies were noted. <div><br></div><div>We held two Hoverwatch sessions at Old Sulehay. The early May one did not turn up anything out of the ordinary but the late May session recorded <i>Pipizella</i> <i>viduata</i> and <i>P</i>. <i>virens </i>and, for the first time, <i>Criorhina floccosa. </i>After completing the formal counts we also recorded <i>Criorhina berberina, </i><i>Brachyopa insensilis </i>and <i>Brachypalpoides lentus. </i>These last four species are all associated with dead wood or sap runs. The early May Hoverwatch did turn up the Conopid fly <i>Myopa testacea. </i>All Conopid records are much aprreciated as we only get a few each year. They are easy to recognise as a family but not quite so simple to identify to species as several look very similar. </div><div><br></div><div>The moth traps at Pitsford turned up a few flies. The hoverfly <i>Parasyrphus punctulatus</i>, an early season species, was taken. This occurs in the moth traps most years but I get very few records of it from general fieldwork. Craneflies caught in the traps were <i>Nephrotoma appendiculata </i>and <i>Tipula submarmorata. </i><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> </i></div><div><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></i></div><div><font face="Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif">I have not received many records yet for May from other dipterists but amongst Kev Rowley's records was the hoverfly <i>Paragus haemorrhous </i>at Storton's Reserve. This is a new site for this species, which prefers short grasslands with bare patches that can heat up quickly in sunny conditions.</font></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><i><br></i></div>John Showershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762796411816027389noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8557827360605418813.post-79908005441478899862015-04-28T02:17:00.001-07:002015-04-28T02:17:13.266-07:00Northants and Peterborough Diptera Group April MeetingThe first field meeting of the year is always the last Sunday in April. Following the pattern of the past few years, a warm and very promising spell of weather had broken into decidedly cold and breezy conditions with the vegetation left wet after overnight rain. Not the most auspicious start to the season. We met at the roadside next to Mantle's Heath and walked over to High Wood and Meadow, Wildlife Trust reserve. The flush at the entrance to the reserve has recently had some maintenance work done on it and it looked very promising for later in the year. With the cold conditions, nothing was flying so it was a matter of sweeping the vegetation to see what turned up. The most productive area was the lower damp meadow where a mixture of rushes and grass tussocks provided some shelter for insects. The first craneflies of the season were just emerging and I found one male <i>Tipula</i> <i>vittata</i> close to the small stream at the bottom of the meadow. Several very small blackish craneflies turned out to be <i>Ormosia lineata. </i>These were identified from the male genitalia after dissection. Although the species is fairly widespread, it is not often recorded as it has an early flight season of April and May.<div><br></div><div>One member of the St Mark's fly family Bibionidae was caught - <i>Bibio johannis.</i><br><div><br></div><div>Four species of hoverfly were found by me in the meadow: <i>Melanostoma mellinum, Platycheirus clypeatus, Eupeodes latifasciatus </i>and <i>Eristalis pertinax. </i>Hopefully other members of the group may have found some more. </div></div><div><br></div><div>Damp meadows can be very good for dung flies, Scathophagidae, but I only found one species, a male <i>Scathophaga inquinata.</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div>With the meadow being rather unproductive I tried the wood as I thought the shelter might provide better conditions. The wood looks splendid at this time of the year with its carpets of bluebells and canopy of cherry blossom. However it did not yield much in the way of diptera. In fact I only took a single fly. This was the common Spring hairy-eyed cranefly, family Pediciidae, <i>Tricyphona immaculata.</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div>So, it was not a very productive start to the season but it was a very pleasant walk in a superb location.</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFvH7IkAt2knExnVOUs6TmutrkBiAwywQ4pN6139eZOzo8VNkVfW0nW2R8BE5XApW8UzkbD2Tew-SbcsR3-giTB9NsmJ_N7h87gEs570EeLdbKcv7GCZgqomLPyHWXG5VqlPIdRdMb2t8/s640/blogger-image--1014888800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFvH7IkAt2knExnVOUs6TmutrkBiAwywQ4pN6139eZOzo8VNkVfW0nW2R8BE5XApW8UzkbD2Tew-SbcsR3-giTB9NsmJ_N7h87gEs570EeLdbKcv7GCZgqomLPyHWXG5VqlPIdRdMb2t8/s640/blogger-image--1014888800.jpg"></a></div><br></div>John Showershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762796411816027389noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8557827360605418813.post-77919196087598290842015-04-19T08:23:00.001-07:002015-04-19T08:36:03.850-07:00April 2015Since my last post I have received an earlier record of a hoverfly in Northants. On 2nd January 2015, Tim Newton found a hoverfly on his window which he correctly identified as <i>Scaeva silenitica. </i>We do not get many records of this species so it was a realyy remarkable find.<div><br></div><div>The warm weather in April has been bringing out the hoverflies, although I have not seen many species yet. There are loads of <i>Eristalis pertinax </i>about and there have been some <i>Epistrophe eligans. </i>The first record of this latter species came from Stuart Baker on 16th April at Southfield Farm Marsh. Graham Warnes found <i>Melangyna quadrimaculata, </i>another species with few records. Yesterday at Pitsford Reserve I found <i>Helophilus hybridus </i>and <i>Melangyna cincta </i>as well as a few very common species.</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier this week Bob Bullock sent me a photo of a blowfly he had seen at Pitsford in the Walgrave arm. This is <i>Cynomya mortuorum, </i>a spectacular species with its metallic blue body and bright yellow face and jowls. We get few records of it although it is very distinctive. If you come across any recently dead animals it is worth looking round for this species. Bob said that there was a dead shrew nearby. Here is Bob's photo.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9YjCCtYYmFMuSXF9xtDaPMOQZHDNbFhw8smLAdMSU2bVx0xav8fPxYTGEuARuwQ439o0h3oTofKJvAepCFzulANYZAoJP0HwWwtDfgD15fnsnW4TgE5Oo2o1Y9_IBUdxD3oinGJ9BmdE/s640/blogger-image--1052367979.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9YjCCtYYmFMuSXF9xtDaPMOQZHDNbFhw8smLAdMSU2bVx0xav8fPxYTGEuARuwQ439o0h3oTofKJvAepCFzulANYZAoJP0HwWwtDfgD15fnsnW4TgE5Oo2o1Y9_IBUdxD3oinGJ9BmdE/s640/blogger-image--1052367979.jpg"></a></div>(C) Bob Bullock 2015</div><div><br></div>John Showershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762796411816027389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8557827360605418813.post-24080436524051486512015-02-24T01:40:00.001-08:002015-02-24T01:40:26.616-08:00First Hoverfly?I received the attached photo from Stuart Baker of the Wildlife Trust. He was working at the Southfield Farm Marsh reserve on 9th February and found this Marmalade Hoverfly <i>Episyrphus balteatus </i>sitting on his vehicle.<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrU6IOXEaqJxfLgxJN6ocS2jU59ktLNHxZWY-gI_80-IPKj_fprtdOVv38vUVjY9r-82mgljrFhLfbheKPNd5BsMpAoiiGMzbhxPqulRpUQObmouXGQ4hHnLV2q0iKUxyYzhN7AD8ZEdU/s640/blogger-image--462154929.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrU6IOXEaqJxfLgxJN6ocS2jU59ktLNHxZWY-gI_80-IPKj_fprtdOVv38vUVjY9r-82mgljrFhLfbheKPNd5BsMpAoiiGMzbhxPqulRpUQObmouXGQ4hHnLV2q0iKUxyYzhN7AD8ZEdU/s640/blogger-image--462154929.jpg"></a></div><i>Episyrphus balteatus </i> by Stuart Baker</div><div><br></div><div>Now is the time of year in Northants when some hoverflies start to become active. Look in sheltered sunny places where the temperature will be a few degrees higher than the surrounding area. The usual first emergers are this species and the drone fly <i>Eristalis tenax.</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div>I attended the Dipterists Forum weekend wokshop at Preston Montford Field Centre over the weekend. This covered a general guide to identifying acalyptrate families and species identification to a group of these families where keys are not readily available. An update of Stuart Ball's key to Diptera families was provided. This included recent taxonomic changes and the workshop provided useful feedback to further improve the keys. The updated keys will be placed on the Dipterists Forum website in the members area.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAH8s03OGTerQiNTaNXzzloVREihjuatybR4d9laaNAuQb3Ri9Ahckp2d0gHINePTwqAdLMp-IQoEJLQyGHZSKg3mVbagHU1xqNkJ9OvEmqFfijZGWM12UUWNbmM6ZT2zkPaZk5spi7KQ/s640/blogger-image--1577081487.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAH8s03OGTerQiNTaNXzzloVREihjuatybR4d9laaNAuQb3Ri9Ahckp2d0gHINePTwqAdLMp-IQoEJLQyGHZSKg3mVbagHU1xqNkJ9OvEmqFfijZGWM12UUWNbmM6ZT2zkPaZk5spi7KQ/s640/blogger-image--1577081487.jpg"></a></div>Dipterists Forum workshop at Preston Montford - John Showers</div>John Showershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00762796411816027389noreply@blogger.com0