The eyes have it

Eristalinus sepulchralis

Last week, a strikingly different hoverfly caught my eye as I wandered around the garden. Unlike most of the "regulars" which I have learned to identify, this one was dark, with dull buff, rather than yellow, markings. But the biggest surprise was its eyes. They were speckled. I knew right away what that meant; I had finally seen my first Eristalinus. A quick check of Britain's Hoverflies: A Field Guide yielded the species name – Eristalinus sepulchralis. This is another species that Mike spotted last year but I missed. Like all hoverflies, it's a nectivore as an adult, visiting a wide variety of flower species and undoubtedly finding a nice buffet in the garden. The "rat-tailed" larvae develop underwater, so perhaps our new pond will provide an appealing prospect for potential breeders. The larvae feed on micro-organisms that break down wet, rotting vegetation. The species is essentially a lowland species of Wales and southern England, though there are scattered records from lowland Scotland as well. Elsewhere, it is widespread from Europe right across the Pacific Ocean. It has undergone a substantial decline in the UK over the past decade and a half, so we're happy to find them here, and hope they like the place enough to stick around.

Check out those speckly eyes!