[Syrphidae] Finding Female Episyrphus

[Bartsch, Hans D]

Hello Matt, 
In Sweden a favorit plant for females to lay egg on is Phragmites communis. So maybe your are lucky on fresh leaves of such stands and in their vicinity 
Best wishes 
Hans

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Perkins, Matthew 
  To: syrphidae at lists.nottingham.ac.uk 
  Sent: Tuesday, June 08, 2010 7:33 PM
  Subject: [Syrphidae] Finding Female Episyrphus


  Hello,

  Sorry to trouble you, I am trying to catch female Episyrphus balteatus so that I can produce a supply of eggs in the lab. However I am having trouble finding any. I have located and caught plenty of males hovering under trees and bushes in hedgerows and parkland, but an extensive search of hedgrerow flower banks and buttercup fields has revealed no females. I wondered if anyone had  any good tips for finding females  - such as their favourite habitats or food plant species? I have managed to collect many female Syrphus ribesii amongst nettles and flowers in sunny hedge banks...but no Episyrphus.

  Any help would be greatly appreciated as Im waiting on them to construct food chains in the lab.

  Kind regards,

  Matt Perkins

  PhD Researcher
  Center for Ecology & Conservation
  The University of Exeter




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