A Year in the Valley

A Year in the Valley

Discovering the flora and fauna in a small square of Portmellon Valley

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  • Other stripy things that fly

    Other stripy things that fly

    Flying things are notoriously difficult to photograph and even when they look as though they are settling, you have to be quick as they are constantly moving even in the flowers.  There were many bees on the Mallow and Toadflax.  This one was distinctly ginger with black stripes.  I identified it as a Common Carder Bee.

    This is a Melanostoma mellinum hoverfly, one of the most common hoverfly species in the UK.  It is found in grassland.  It doesn’t have a common name, as we tend to just call it a hoverfly, but the Wildlife Trust says there are over 280 species of hoverfly in the UK.  This one has the big-eyed head of a fly in a russet-red colour, and a black and yellow body in W-stripes.

    Daisy D

    29 July 2023
    Insects
    Common Carder Bee, Hover Fly

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