Hornet Hoverfly, Butterflies, Razzmatazz, Leaf Cutter Bees and Moths

I first spotted this Hornet Hoverfly (Volucella zonaria) in the garden yesterday on Astrantia flowers but by the time I had fetched the camera it had gone. Luckily, it returned today and I managed to get a few record shots.

It looks like a stinging hornet but is actually quite harmless. The mimicry helps to protect the hoverfly from predators, such as birds.

The Hornet Hoverfly first colonised England in the 1940's. Initially, it was rare and confined to the south and south-east but climate change and warming temperatures have resulted in it moving northwards and it has now been spotted in Cheshire.

Its larvae live in the nests of social wasps in a symbiotic relationship where the larvae keep the nest clean by feeding on debris and rubbish.

Apart from the fact that Astrantia has attracted this new garden hoverfly "tick", I have fallen totally in love with it. I first spotted it last year at Coughton Court where I bought this plant. Colours of the flowers vary from white, to light pink, mid pink and a beautiful deep pink. I would love a border full of this and Cosmos.



Marjoram has started to flower and today attracted a pair of Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithinus) butterflies.

A photo of one of the butterflies on Cranesbill Geranium leaves

Marjoram flowers

Last year I also bought an Echinacea Razzmatazz from one of the NT properties I visited - the flowers are a real delight :)

I still haven't managed to get a photo this year of Leaf Cutter bees but here you can see they are using the new bee "hotel"

We've had a lot of rain overnight recently so I haven't put the moth trap out but here a few moths from when I last trapped.


Shuttle-shaped Dart (Agrotis puta)

Common Footman (Eilema lurideola) - New for Year

Marbled Beauty (Bryophila domestica0

Mottled Rustic (Caradrina morpheus) - New for Year

Scalloped Oak (worn!) (Crocallis elonguaria0

Elephant Hawk-moth (Deilephila elpenor )

Hoverflies, Bees and Big Butterfly Count

The garden is full of bees and hoverflies at the moment.

Yesterday I spotted a new hoverfly species for the garden (I've only been trying to identify them more seriously since last summer). I thought it was one of the Scaeva species probably the Lunar Hoverfly but several people on Twitter have identified it as a Pied Hoverfly - Scaeva pyrastri. This species is found in gardens, wastelands and meadows and it is thought that few survive the winter so breeding populations rely on migrants from mainland Europe.

Pied Hoverfly

and a different uncropped photo. The flowers on my Rat-tailed radishes are attracting a lot of hoverfly species.

There are dozens of Marmalade Hoverflies round the garden - Episyrphus balteatus. Not the best of photos - these insects zoom around so much it is really hard to get a decent picture.

This is a common species of hoverfly - the larvae are predators of aphids. I do hope they lay plenty of eggs on my Echinops plants as there are very few flowers forming thanks to a massive aphid attack :(

The week after the holiday we had a Banded Demoiselle in the garden - I didn't get a photo but its a new garden tick :)




Last year I fell in love with Astrantia and bought a plant from Coughton Court. Its doing really well this year and is proving a magnet for pollinators - here one of the white-tailed bumble bees enjoying the nectar. It almost seemed drunk and didn't move in the half an hour I was in the garden.

Today I was planning to visit a wood about an hour's journey away in search of Purple Emperor, Purple Hairstreak, White Admiral and Silver Washed Fritillary but, for various reasons, the trip has been postponed so I decided to do my first Big Butterfly Count, organised by Butterfly Conservation.

I was really chuffed to see a Large Skipper - I've only seen Skippers in the garden on 3 occasions in all the years we've lived here.

Other butterflies seen were Gatekeeper x 2 (the first this year)

Speckled Wood x 2

and Large White x 1

The main lawn is covered in clover at the moment attracting Common Carder Bees and this the first Red-tailed Bumble Bee of the year.