A visit to the Shropshire Hills.
Aug 17, 2017 12:28:45 GMT
deliasfanatic, mygos, and 4 more like this
Post by nomad on Aug 17, 2017 12:28:45 GMT
Recently my entomological passion took me to the hills of Shropshire in the West Midlands of England in search of the hoverfly Sericomyia superbiens.
S. superbiens is a large and convincing bumble bee mimic that is only found in western and northern Britain. It is a late summer insect, emerging in August and early September and it is found in damp acidic woodland. Through the wonders of the web, I noticed that a Shropshire invertebrate meeting held last year, had seen a number of S. superbiens in a hill wood in a very rural part of that county. I have also noticed from hoverfly images on the web that there is sometimes confusion between S. superbiens and the bumble bee mimic Criorhina berberina form oxycanthae. The more local S. superbiens has a number of subtle differences, such as a plumose aristae, a darker wing patch and this is generally a larger insect and flies later in the year.
Having arrived at Shrewsbury by train, my destination was the village of Pulverbach, about nine miles to the south of that town set in the Shropshire hills. To reach the woodland locality where S. superbiens has been recorded, there was a pleasant three mile walk. Reaching the top of a hillside, it was time to rest and take in the views. Two great bare isolated hills were to my right and the landscape below was a patch work of farmland and woodland. The farmland trees had taken on a somber green and how peaceful it was up here, just the bleating of sheep in a nearby field.
Descending, I passed by a gently sloping Wood which appeared to be mostly made of up of planted conifers. In fact you may have walked by this wood without a second glance and not looking at the map, I was making for another wood until I realized I should not be in a large field with a herd of Hereford cows with an enormous prize bull. I was soon back at the only entrance to this side of the wood. A small gate led to an overgrown ride full of flowers and most importantly, among them were the late summer Black Knapweed (Centaurea nigra) and the tall flowering umbellifer (Angelica sylvestris), both of which are excellent nectar sources for Diptera. I had seen from photographs of S. superbiens taken in this wood that knapweed was the favourite nectar source for this insect. S. superbiens usually flies in more open areas in woodland and along their margins, where the nectar source is usually the blue flowering Devil's-bit Scabious (Succisa pratensis).
How first appearances can be deceptive, this proved to be a wonderful ride for hoverfly species and it was not long before I encountered the object of my quest. The rest of the woodland rides here proved to be unproductive, being mostly of bracken that had been recently mown by the Forestry Commission. Thank heavens for this one ride, and the fact that the FC did not cut it, if they had, I would have had a wasted journey. S. superbiens had been found in this wood by the Shropshire entomologist Nigel Jones in 2007. Previous to that, he had not seen S. superbiens in Shropshire for twenty years.
S. superbiens is without doubt an attractive bee mimic, when the insect is feeding or basking in the sun, the thorax and the pale abdomen are very golden. In this locality the hoverfly was only seen feeding at the purple knapweed flowers and when the clouds covered the sun, they would occasionally fly off to bask on a nearby leaf or blade of grass. The larvae of S. superbiens are aquatic and live in peaty pools and ditches. Here S. superbiens was flying with its model, the Common Carder bee Bombus pascuorum.
Another hoverfly I found here was a species that was new to me, this was the widespread but rather scarce Didea fasciata, a species of coniferous woodland. This is a very strikingly marked hoverfly of the sub-family Syrphini. One example of D. fasciata was observed feeding at the sweet smelling meadow-sweet (Filipendula ulmaria). Among the other hoverfly species that I encountered were the large wasp mimic Sericomyia silentis and the snout faced Rhingia campestris, the latter a common species. There were a few of the hoverfly Ferdinandea cuprea feeding at the knapweeds. This species has a metallic golden abdomen.
The angelica umbels contained mostly common blue and green bottle flies (Calliphoridae) but among them was the lovely blue hoverfly, the Syrphid Leucozona glaucia. Other Diptera encountered here were the impressive large Tachinid Nowickia ferox which is parasite of the common Dark Arches moth (Apamea monoglypha) and the Muscid Phaonia angelicae, the larva feeding in leaf litter.
The butterflies were few in number, common species such as Peris napi, Maniola jurtina, Polygonia c-album and Vanessa atalanta flew along the rides. It has been a very forward season for butterflies this year and V. atalanta has been present in some numbers.
Just beyond the rich overgrown ride, a clearing that had been full of knapweed had been recently cut but S. superbiens was also seen here on the few remaining plants at the edges. I walked uphill and I came to a large rearing pheasant enclosure and there stood a keeper by vehicle with a trailer full of caged juvenile birds ready to go into the enclosure. My cheery good morning met with a gruff reply. In spite of the camera dangerling around my neck, he clearly did not like me being by his pheasants and you could see from his mannerisms that he thought I was up to no good, being in such a remote area of the beaten track. I do not suppose he sees many other people in the wood. The gamekeeper was waiting for his understudy who had forgotten the key to the enclosure and had gone to retrieve it. I have seen his companion earlier on, a youth had raced by me along the main ride on a quad bike and had also given me a look of disdain. Although this was public access land, to put the gamekeeper at ease, I told him that I was after insects but it was only when I showed him a digital image of S. superbiens, and told him that I had come all the way from Wiltshire to find it, did a slow recognition appear on his face, that I was a harmless eccentric, "bugs" he said," it takes all sorts". Leaving him to his await the key, I disappeared back down hill into the wild unkempt ride, but a very strong wind had blown up from the west, putting an end to my photography and it was really time to leave for the long journey home, after what proved to be a very successful field trip.
Below. The Shropshire countryside.
Below. The habitat of Sericomyia superbiens with the nectar source, knapweed.
Below. Sericomyia superbiens.
Below. S. superbiens with the small hoverfly Platycheirus albimanus arriving at a knapweed flower.
Below. S. superbiens feeding with the hoverfly Eristalis arbustorum, the dark form of the female.
Below. The model for the mimic S. superbiens, the Carder bumble Bee, Bombus pascuorum.
Below. The hoverfly, Didea fasciata.
Below. The Hoverfly, Sericomyia silentis.
Below. The hoverfly, Leucozona glaucia.
Below. The hoverfly, Rhingia campestris.
Below. The woodland hoverfly Ferdinandea cuprea.
Below. The Tachinid Nowickia ferox.
Below. Phaonia angelicae of the Muscidae (house-fly family).
S. superbiens is a large and convincing bumble bee mimic that is only found in western and northern Britain. It is a late summer insect, emerging in August and early September and it is found in damp acidic woodland. Through the wonders of the web, I noticed that a Shropshire invertebrate meeting held last year, had seen a number of S. superbiens in a hill wood in a very rural part of that county. I have also noticed from hoverfly images on the web that there is sometimes confusion between S. superbiens and the bumble bee mimic Criorhina berberina form oxycanthae. The more local S. superbiens has a number of subtle differences, such as a plumose aristae, a darker wing patch and this is generally a larger insect and flies later in the year.
Having arrived at Shrewsbury by train, my destination was the village of Pulverbach, about nine miles to the south of that town set in the Shropshire hills. To reach the woodland locality where S. superbiens has been recorded, there was a pleasant three mile walk. Reaching the top of a hillside, it was time to rest and take in the views. Two great bare isolated hills were to my right and the landscape below was a patch work of farmland and woodland. The farmland trees had taken on a somber green and how peaceful it was up here, just the bleating of sheep in a nearby field.
Descending, I passed by a gently sloping Wood which appeared to be mostly made of up of planted conifers. In fact you may have walked by this wood without a second glance and not looking at the map, I was making for another wood until I realized I should not be in a large field with a herd of Hereford cows with an enormous prize bull. I was soon back at the only entrance to this side of the wood. A small gate led to an overgrown ride full of flowers and most importantly, among them were the late summer Black Knapweed (Centaurea nigra) and the tall flowering umbellifer (Angelica sylvestris), both of which are excellent nectar sources for Diptera. I had seen from photographs of S. superbiens taken in this wood that knapweed was the favourite nectar source for this insect. S. superbiens usually flies in more open areas in woodland and along their margins, where the nectar source is usually the blue flowering Devil's-bit Scabious (Succisa pratensis).
How first appearances can be deceptive, this proved to be a wonderful ride for hoverfly species and it was not long before I encountered the object of my quest. The rest of the woodland rides here proved to be unproductive, being mostly of bracken that had been recently mown by the Forestry Commission. Thank heavens for this one ride, and the fact that the FC did not cut it, if they had, I would have had a wasted journey. S. superbiens had been found in this wood by the Shropshire entomologist Nigel Jones in 2007. Previous to that, he had not seen S. superbiens in Shropshire for twenty years.
S. superbiens is without doubt an attractive bee mimic, when the insect is feeding or basking in the sun, the thorax and the pale abdomen are very golden. In this locality the hoverfly was only seen feeding at the purple knapweed flowers and when the clouds covered the sun, they would occasionally fly off to bask on a nearby leaf or blade of grass. The larvae of S. superbiens are aquatic and live in peaty pools and ditches. Here S. superbiens was flying with its model, the Common Carder bee Bombus pascuorum.
Another hoverfly I found here was a species that was new to me, this was the widespread but rather scarce Didea fasciata, a species of coniferous woodland. This is a very strikingly marked hoverfly of the sub-family Syrphini. One example of D. fasciata was observed feeding at the sweet smelling meadow-sweet (Filipendula ulmaria). Among the other hoverfly species that I encountered were the large wasp mimic Sericomyia silentis and the snout faced Rhingia campestris, the latter a common species. There were a few of the hoverfly Ferdinandea cuprea feeding at the knapweeds. This species has a metallic golden abdomen.
The angelica umbels contained mostly common blue and green bottle flies (Calliphoridae) but among them was the lovely blue hoverfly, the Syrphid Leucozona glaucia. Other Diptera encountered here were the impressive large Tachinid Nowickia ferox which is parasite of the common Dark Arches moth (Apamea monoglypha) and the Muscid Phaonia angelicae, the larva feeding in leaf litter.
The butterflies were few in number, common species such as Peris napi, Maniola jurtina, Polygonia c-album and Vanessa atalanta flew along the rides. It has been a very forward season for butterflies this year and V. atalanta has been present in some numbers.
Just beyond the rich overgrown ride, a clearing that had been full of knapweed had been recently cut but S. superbiens was also seen here on the few remaining plants at the edges. I walked uphill and I came to a large rearing pheasant enclosure and there stood a keeper by vehicle with a trailer full of caged juvenile birds ready to go into the enclosure. My cheery good morning met with a gruff reply. In spite of the camera dangerling around my neck, he clearly did not like me being by his pheasants and you could see from his mannerisms that he thought I was up to no good, being in such a remote area of the beaten track. I do not suppose he sees many other people in the wood. The gamekeeper was waiting for his understudy who had forgotten the key to the enclosure and had gone to retrieve it. I have seen his companion earlier on, a youth had raced by me along the main ride on a quad bike and had also given me a look of disdain. Although this was public access land, to put the gamekeeper at ease, I told him that I was after insects but it was only when I showed him a digital image of S. superbiens, and told him that I had come all the way from Wiltshire to find it, did a slow recognition appear on his face, that I was a harmless eccentric, "bugs" he said," it takes all sorts". Leaving him to his await the key, I disappeared back down hill into the wild unkempt ride, but a very strong wind had blown up from the west, putting an end to my photography and it was really time to leave for the long journey home, after what proved to be a very successful field trip.
Below. The Shropshire countryside.
Below. The habitat of Sericomyia superbiens with the nectar source, knapweed.
Below. Sericomyia superbiens.
Below. S. superbiens with the small hoverfly Platycheirus albimanus arriving at a knapweed flower.
Below. S. superbiens feeding with the hoverfly Eristalis arbustorum, the dark form of the female.
Below. The model for the mimic S. superbiens, the Carder bumble Bee, Bombus pascuorum.
Below. The hoverfly, Didea fasciata.
Below. The Hoverfly, Sericomyia silentis.
Below. The hoverfly, Leucozona glaucia.
Below. The hoverfly, Rhingia campestris.
Below. The woodland hoverfly Ferdinandea cuprea.
Below. The Tachinid Nowickia ferox.
Below. Phaonia angelicae of the Muscidae (house-fly family).
