Help with Hoverflies please

[PETER]

Tried with Nature spot website but having no luck,they all look similar to me.

[Janice Sutton]

Only just started learning myself , but as a starting point, think no1 is Eristalis sp possibly pertinax, no2 Eupeodes latifaciatus.

[PETER]

Many thanks Janice,
Just been looking on the web and came across this one STEVEN FALK on FLICKR,some amazing photo's,this guy is an expert
at what he does.

[Janice Sutton]

I know about him , I follow him on Flickr now for a couple of weeks, just bought Britain's Hoverflies on Wildguides but still not easy.

[Leonard Poxon]

Peter/Janice,

I use the following website:

http://syrphidae.3644.co.uk/

From that I think the first one is Eristalis nemorum (male) and the second is Syrphus ribestii.

The third one though is a real mystery. It is not on the above website nor on the Stephen Falk photos on Flickr. It may not therefore be one of the British species, but a migrant from the continent.

[PETER]

Thanks Len,I've gone with your suggestions,seeing that Janice is still learning like me.

[PETER]

Last pic is a Patchwork Leafcutter Bee - (Megachile centuncularis)

[tony]

Britains Hoverflies is an excellent book, but as Janice says, it still isn't easy to I.d. within a family on some of them (leg colours hairy eyes, etc etc) and with (I think) over 270 different hoverflies in the UK.....
UK hoverflies on facebook is worth joining, you will get an i.d. very quickly on there if it is possible.

[PETER]

Hi Tony,
Yes joined a few days ago,very helpful staff + members,putting my new Macro lens to good use.

[tony]

Don't think it's Nemorum as the wing stigma isn't sharp enough. I am tempted by Tenax but i think we would need a picture of the face and eyes to be sure with this one.

[PETER]

Tony,see Friday's post from Len Poxon,it's all Lens fault

[Leonard Poxon]

Well ID'd for the Leafcutter Bee, that's a new species for me.

It's good to debate the differences between the species. I went for nemorum over tenax because of the leg colour (of mainly the middle pair of legs) seemed a better match than that of tenax.

Peter,

Have you asked the facebook followers to ID it?

[PETER]

Hi Len,
Yes I joined UK Hoverflies on Facebook a few days ago,also experts such as Roger Morris,Ian Andrews,Joan Childs.
Leafcutter Bee is on Stephen Falk FLICKR site.

I have posted some pic's on Flickr Gallery of Hoverflies.

Also bought the book BRITAIN'S HOVERFLIES,i can highly recommend it,only received it Friday.

[phil kirk]

I missed this thread as I have been away, but here are some thoughts.

I went on an FSC course at Preston Mountford in 2015. It was run by Stuart Ball and Roger Morris, and was an excellent introduction into Hoverflies. For many of the species it is necessary to use a microscope to make a positive id. Stuart and Roger have a Flickr group https://www.flickr.com/groups/syrphidae ... 340641810/ where help with id can often be found. They will often tell you it is impossible to make an id from a photo, no matter how good the photo.

The book used on the course (as well as their own Britain's Hoverflies) was British Hoverflies by Alan Stubbs and Steven Falk. It has better illustrations and a comprehensive key - which is a real challenge to follow! The defining characteristics are often visible only with a microscope - and even then it can be extremely difficult.

I have managed to id about 20 odd in the garden without resorting to killing them (the ethics of which are debatable, but which personally I am not prepared to do)

[tony]

I went with the Britain's Hoverflies book as it is much easier to understand than the Falk and Stubbs book and is more than adequate for the beginner.
Also the UK hoverflies Facebook page is excellent as already said.