David Element's Wildlife Web Page Flies 2

David Element

Wildlife Photography and Digital Video Images

___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Flies 2 – White-clubbed Hoverflies

WHITE-CLUBBED HOVERFLY Scaeva pyrastri (f)

WHITE-CLUBBED HOVERFLY Scaeva pyrastri (f)

There are almost 280 named hoverfly species on the current British list. These include the distinctively marked White-clubbed Hoverfly Scaeva pyrastri, a strongly migratory insect that appears to be unable to survive British winters. Many of these are similar in appearance and difficult to identify - indeed it is often easier to sex these insects than it is to identify them to species level. The eyes of most male hoverflies touch at the top of the head, so all the above illustrations are of females. Some of the photographs were taken in France. The adults of some of the rarest species are seldom seen even by expert entomologists and therefore their life-histories and conservation requirements are sometimes poorly understood, and by inference probably highly specialised. Although many species closely resemble bees or wasps, they are entirely harmless, and they can neither sting nor bite.

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