From Francis.Gilbert at nottingham.ac.uk Tue Aug 14 13:57:50 2012 From: Francis.Gilbert at nottingham.ac.uk (Francis Gilbert) Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2012 13:57:50 +0100 Subject: [Syrphidae] FW: Advanced hunting behaviour or what? Message-ID: <37D2AE0AED301E4ABCCD948B16BD78AA3D7498E062@EXCHANGE1.ad.nottingham.ac.uk> Dr Francis Gilbert Associate Professor of Ecology, School of Biology University Park, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK Tel: +44 (0) 115 951 3215 website: www.nottingham.ac.uk/~plzfg ecology.nottingham.ac.uk From: Wittsell, Rasmus - Xylem [mailto:Rasmus.Wittsell at Xyleminc.com] Sent: 14 August 2012 12:38 To: syrphidae at nottingham.ac.uk Subject: Advanced hunting behaviour or what? Greetings! Today I observed an unusual thing as I was having lunch in my garden. Being a former ecology student (at the university in Lund, 1980s) I recognized that this could be of interest to the right persons. In short, this is what I saw and I also propose an explanation, however far-fetched: A wasp (species undetermined) landed on the table in front of me. It looked strangely deformed, so I took a closer look. The wasp was actually piggy-backing a hoverfly (also species unknown). Obviously the wasp had caught the hoverfly, but it was just holding on to it in a way that reminded me of a mating embrace. It immediately occurred to me that the fly may have been fooled into allowing the wasp to mount it. If this was so, it would further imply that the hoverfly was a victim of its own mimicry strategy because the wasp had developed a hunting strategy that capitalizes on it. I don't have any more information, as the insects promptly flew away. The fly was still alive and it seemed to be actively participating in the flight(, though it was probably just trying to escape). Both insects were of equal size and the wasp was of a rather small species, though I didn't have time to observe it for more than a few seconds. I live in Sj?bo in southernmost Sweden. Best regards Rasmus Wittsell CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This e-mail, including any attachments and/or linked documents, is intended for the sole use of the intended addressee and may contain information that is privileged, confidential, proprietary, or otherwise protected by law. Any unauthorized review, dissemination, distribution, or copying is prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please contact the original sender immediately by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message and any attachments. Please note that any views or opinions presented in this e-mail are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Xylem Inc. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From lunau at uni-duesseldorf.de Tue Aug 14 15:23:12 2012 From: lunau at uni-duesseldorf.de (Klaus Lunau) Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2012 16:23:12 +0200 Subject: [Syrphidae] Re: FW: Advanced hunting behaviour or what? In-Reply-To: <37D2AE0AED301E4ABCCD948B16BD78AA3D7498E062@EXCHANGE1.ad.nottingham.ac.uk> References: <37D2AE0AED301E4ABCCD948B16BD78AA3D7498E062@EXCHANGE1.ad.nottingham.ac.uk> Message-ID: <000001cd7a28$55fa7410$01ef5c30$@uni-duesseldorf.de> Dear Syrpidologists, normal nest provisioning behaviour of a sphecid wasp like Mellinus arvensis, I guess. See photo in: http://www.bwars.com/index.php?q=taxonomy/term/359/all&page=2 Best wishes Klaus Lunau Prof. Dr. Klaus Lunau Institut f?r Sinnes?kologie Heinrich-Heine Universit?t D?sseldorf Universit?tsstr. 1 40225 D?sseldorf Germany tel ++49 211 81 13059 fax++49 211 81 11971 http://www.biologie.uni-duesseldorf.de/Institute/Sinnesoekologie Von: syrphidae-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk [mailto:syrphidae-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk] Im Auftrag von Francis Gilbert Gesendet: Dienstag, 14. August 2012 14:58 An: Hoverfly discussion list Betreff: [Syrphidae] FW: Advanced hunting behaviour or what? Dr Francis Gilbert Associate Professor of Ecology, School of Biology University Park, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK Tel: +44 (0) 115 951 3215 website: www.nottingham.ac.uk/~plzfg ecology.nottingham.ac.uk From: Wittsell, Rasmus - Xylem [mailto:Rasmus.Wittsell at Xyleminc.com] Sent: 14 August 2012 12:38 To: syrphidae at nottingham.ac.uk Subject: Advanced hunting behaviour or what? Greetings! Today I observed an unusual thing as I was having lunch in my garden. Being a former ecology student (at the university in Lund, 1980s) I recognized that this could be of interest to the right persons. In short, this is what I saw and I also propose an explanation, however far-fetched: A wasp (species undetermined) landed on the table in front of me. It looked strangely deformed, so I took a closer look. The wasp was actually piggy-backing a hoverfly (also species unknown). Obviously the wasp had caught the hoverfly, but it was just holding on to it in a way that reminded me of a mating embrace. It immediately occurred to me that the fly may have been fooled into allowing the wasp to mount it. If this was so, it would further imply that the hoverfly was a victim of its own mimicry strategy because the wasp had developed a hunting strategy that capitalizes on it. I don?t have any more information, as the insects promptly flew away. The fly was still alive and it seemed to be actively participating in the flight(, though it was probably just trying to escape). Both insects were of equal size and the wasp was of a rather small species, though I didn?t have time to observe it for more than a few seconds. I live in Sj?bo in southernmost Sweden. Best regards Rasmus Wittsell CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This e-mail, including any attachments and/or linked documents, is intended for the sole use of the intended addressee and may contain information that is privileged, confidential, proprietary, or otherwise protected by law. Any unauthorized review, dissemination, distribution, or copying is prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please contact the original sender immediately by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message and any attachments. Please note that any views or opinions presented in this e-mail are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Xylem Inc. This message and any attachment are intended solely for the addressee and may contain confidential information. If you have received this message in error, please send it back to me, and immediately delete it. Please do not use, copy or disclose the information contained in this message or in any attachment. Any views or opinions expressed by the author of this email do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Nottingham. This message has been checked for viruses but the contents of an attachment may still contain software viruses which could damage your computer system: you are advised to perform your own checks. Email communications with the University of Nottingham may be monitored as permitted by UK legislation. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From erik.sjodin at knusnatur.se Wed Aug 15 06:28:08 2012 From: erik.sjodin at knusnatur.se (=?iso-8859-1?Q?Erik=20Sj=F6din?=) Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2012 07:28:08 +0200 Subject: [Syrphidae] Re: FW: Advanced hunting behaviour or what? In-Reply-To: <000001cd7a28$55fa7410$01ef5c30$@uni-duesseldorf.de> References: <37D2AE0AED301E4ABCCD948B16BD78AA3D7498E062@EXCHANGE1.ad.nottingham.ac.uk> <000001cd7a28$55fa7410$01ef5c30$@uni-duesseldorf.de> Message-ID: <20120815052809.18DBB8493B4E0@bmail03.one.com> Mellinus arvensis is the most likely one and it is very common in sandspots in my garden too, I really like watching the species when it comes with prey. But you should not forget about Bembix rostrata Klaus... ;-) . This is also a fly-hunter, but the species is quite uncommon and spectaculary large. ? -- N Erik Sj?din Knus Natur G?nsta 3 745 97 Enk?ping On 14 aug 2012 16:23 "Klaus Lunau" wrote: > Dear Syrpidologists, > ? > normal nest provisioning behaviour of a sphecid wasp like Mellinus > arvensis, I guess. > See photo in: > http://www.bwars.com/index.php?q=taxonomy/term/359/all&page=2 > ? > Best wishes > ? > Klaus Lunau > ? > Prof. Dr. Klaus Lunau > Institut f?r Sinnes?kologie > Heinrich-Heine Universit?t D?sseldorf > Universit?tsstr. 1 > 40225 D?sseldorf > Germany > ? > tel ++49 211 81 13059 > fax++49 211 81 11971 > http://www.biologie.uni-duesseldorf.de/Institute/Sinnesoekologie > ? > Von:syrphidae-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk > [mailto:syrphidae-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk] Im Auftrag > vonFrancis Gilbert > Gesendet: Dienstag, 14. August 2012 14:58 > An: Hoverfly discussion list > Betreff: [Syrphidae] FW: Advanced hunting behaviour or what? > ? > ? > ? > Dr Francis Gilbert > Associate Professor of Ecology, School of Biology > University Park, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK > Tel: +44 (0) 115 951 3215Ring: +44 (0) 115 951 3215 > ply&sp&folder=INBOX.Blomflugor&uid=112&uidval=1327877518&prefmod=20100 > 825211400Z#> > website: www.nottingham.ac.uk/~plzfg > > ???????????????ecology.nottingham.ac.uk > ? > ? > From:Wittsell, Rasmus - Xylem > > Sent: 14 August 2012 12:38 > To: > Subject: Advanced hunting behaviour or what? > ? > ? > Greetings! > ? > Today I observed an unusual thing as I was having lunch in my garden. > Being a former ecology student (at the university in Lund, 1980s) I > recognized that this could be of interest to the right persons. ?In > short, this is what I saw and I also propose an explanation, however > far-fetched: > ? > A wasp (species undetermined) landed on the table in front of me. It > looked strangely deformed, so I took a closer look. The wasp was > actually piggy-backing a hoverfly (also species unknown). Obviously > the wasp had caught the hoverfly, but it was just holding on to it in > a way that reminded me of a matingembrace. It immediately occurred to > me that the fly may have been fooled into allowing the wasp to mount > it. If this was so, it would furtherimply that the hoverfly was a > victimof its own mimicry strategy because the wasp had developed a > hunting strategy that capitalizes on it. > ? > I don?t have any more information, as the insects promptly flew away. > The fly was still alive and it seemed to be activelyparticipating in > the flight(, though it was probably just trying to escape). Both > insects were of equal size and the wasp was of a rather small species, > though I didn?t have time to observe it for more than a few seconds. I > live in Sj?bo insouthernmost Sweden. > ? > Best regards > ? > ? > Rasmus Wittsell > CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This e-mail, including any attachments and/or > linked documents, is intended for the sole use of the intended > addressee and may contain information that is privileged, > confidential, proprietary, or otherwise protected by law. Any > unauthorized review, dissemination, distribution, or copying is > prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please > contact the original sender immediately by reply email and destroy all > copies of the original message and any attachments. Please note that > any views or opinions presented in this e-mail are solely those of the > author and do not necessarily represent those of Xylem Inc. > ? > This message and any attachment are intended solely for the addressee > and may contain confidential information. If you have received this > message in error, please send it back to me, and immediately delete > it. Please do not use, copy or disclose the information contained in > this message or in any attachment. Any views or opinions expressed by > the author of this email do not necessarily reflect the views of the > University of Nottingham. > This message has been checked for viruses but the contents of an > attachment may still contain software viruses which could damage your > computer system: you are advised to perform your own checks. Email > communications with the University of Nottingham may be monitored as > permitted by UK legislation. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From medmunds at phonecoop.coop Wed Aug 15 09:33:49 2012 From: medmunds at phonecoop.coop (Malcolm Edmunds) Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2012 09:33:49 +0100 Subject: [Syrphidae] Re: FW: Advanced hunting behaviour or what? In-Reply-To: <20120815052809.18DBB8493B4E0@bmail03.one.com> References: <37D2AE0AED301E4ABCCD948B16BD78AA3D7498E062@EXCHANGE1.ad.nottingham.ac.uk><000001cd7a28$55fa7410$01ef5c30$@uni-duesseldorf.de> <20120815052809.18DBB8493B4E0@bmail03.one.com> Message-ID: <9ACD6B9D769F46CD98554E62E0E5A741@UserPC> Some years ago a friend gave me some damaged mud nests full of syrphid prey, mostly yellow and black, but there seemed no point in identifying them all as the wasp was not known. Francis Gilbert?s Naturalists Handbook refers to work by Pickard in 1975 who compared the syrphid prey of the wasp Ectemnius cavifrons with the syrphids in the surrounding habitat, so there are clearly several species of wasp from different genera which specialise on capturing hoverflies. Malcolm Edmunds Kildare, Goosnargh Lane, Goosnargh, Preston PR3 2BP, UK medmunds at phonecoop.coop _____ From: syrphidae-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk [mailto:syrphidae-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk] On Behalf Of Erik Sj?din Sent: 15 August 2012 06:28 To: Hoverfly discussion list Subject: [Syrphidae] Re: FW: Advanced hunting behaviour or what? Mellinus arvensis is the most likely one and it is very common in sandspots in my garden too, I really like watching the species when it comes with prey. But you should not forget about Bembix rostrata Klaus... ;-) . This is also a fly-hunter, but the species is quite uncommon and spectaculary large. -- N Erik Sj?din Knus Natur G?nsta 3 745 97 Enk?ping On 14 aug 2012 16:23 "Klaus Lunau" wrote: Dear Syrpidologists, normal nest provisioning behaviour of a sphecid wasp like Mellinus arvensis, I guess. See photo in: http://www.bwars.com/index.php?q=taxonomy/term/359/all&page=2 Best wishes Klaus Lunau Prof. Dr. Klaus Lunau Institut f?r Sinnes?kologie Heinrich-Heine Universit?t D?sseldorf Universit?tsstr. 1 40225 D?sseldorf Germany tel ++49 211 81 13059 fax++49 211 81 11971 http://www.biologie.uni-duesseldorf.de/Institute/Sinnesoekologie Von: syrphidae-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk [mailto:syrphidae-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk] Im Auftrag von Francis Gilbert Gesendet: Dienstag, 14. August 2012 14:58 An: Hoverfly discussion list Betreff: [Syrphidae] FW: Advanced hunting behaviour or what? Dr Francis Gilbert Associate Professor of Ecology, School of Biology University Park, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK Tel: +44 (0) 115 951 3215 website: www.nottingham.ac.uk/~plzfg ecology.nottingham.ac.uk From: Wittsell, Rasmus - Xylem [mailto:Rasmus.Wittsell at Xyleminc.com] Sent: 14 August 2012 12:38 To: syrphidae at nottingham.ac.uk Subject: Advanced hunting behaviour or what? Greetings! Today I observed an unusual thing as I was having lunch in my garden. Being a former ecology student (at the university in Lund, 1980s) I recognized that this could be of interest to the right persons. In short, this is what I saw and I also propose an explanation, however far-fetched: A wasp (species undetermined) landed on the table in front of me. It looked strangely deformed, so I took a closer look. The wasp was actually piggy-backing a hoverfly (also species unknown). Obviously the wasp had caught the hoverfly, but it was just holding on to it in a way that reminded me of a mating embrace. It immediately occurred to me that the fly may have been fooled into allowing the wasp to mount it. If this was so, it would further imply that the hoverfly was a victim of its own mimicry strategy because the wasp had developed a hunting strategy that capitalizes on it. I don?t have any more information, as the insects promptly flew away. The fly was still alive and it seemed to be actively participating in the flight(, though it was probably just trying to escape). Both insects were of equal size and the wasp was of a rather small species, though I didn?t have time to observe it for more than a few seconds. I live in Sj?bo in southernmost Sweden. Best regards Rasmus Wittsell CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This e-mail, including any attachments and/or linked documents, is intended for the sole use of the intended addressee and may contain information that is privileged, confidential, proprietary, or otherwise protected by law. Any unauthorized review, dissemination, distribution, or copying is prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please contact the original sender immediately by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message and any attachments. Please note that any views or opinions presented in this e-mail are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Xylem Inc. This message and any attachment are intended solely for the addressee and may contain confidential information. If you have received this message in error, please send it back to me, and immediately delete it. Please do not use, copy or disclose the information contained in this message or in any attachment. Any views or opinions expressed by the author of this email do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Nottingham. This message has been checked for viruses but the contents of an attachment may still contain software viruses which could damage your computer system: you are advised to perform your own checks. Email communications with the University of Nottingham may be monitored as permitted by UK legislation. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Francis.Gilbert at nottingham.ac.uk Fri Aug 31 09:57:38 2012 From: Francis.Gilbert at nottingham.ac.uk (Francis Gilbert) Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2012 09:57:38 +0100 Subject: [Syrphidae] FW: Hoverfly video Message-ID: <37D2AE0AED301E4ABCCD948B16BD78AA3D9E339DEA@EXCHANGE1.ad.nottingham.ac.uk> Dr Francis Gilbert Associate Professor of Ecology, School of Biology University Park, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK Tel: +44 (0) 115 951 3215 website: www.nottingham.ac.uk/~plzfg ecology.nottingham.ac.uk From: Stephen Harris [mailto:sjh_qw at yahoo.co.uk] Sent: 30 August 2012 16:43 To: Francis Gilbert Subject: Re: Hoverfly I posted the 15 sec clip on Youtube if you are interested in seeing it Steve http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2HunTBKS6I&feature=youtu.be ________________________________ From: Francis Gilbert To: Stephen Harris Sent: Sunday, 26 August 2012, 19:40 Subject: RE: Hoverfly It's definitely mating behaviour. The male hovers above the female while she is feeding from flowers. It's actually most well known from Eristalis nemorum. There's a picture rather like yours in Stubbs & Falk. Francis Dr Francis Gilbert Associate Professor of Ecology, School of Biology University Park, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK Tel: +44 (0) 115 951 3215 website: www.nottingham.ac.uk/~plzfg ecology.nottingham.ac.uk From: Stephen Harris [mailto:sjh_qw at yahoo.co.uk] Sent: 26 August 2012 15:44 To: Francis Gilbert Subject: Re: Hoverfly Hi Francis, I tried to send you a video clip of these two hoverflies - but the file too large. I observed this behaviour the other day, and managed to get a short video clip of it. One hoverfly hovered above the other for several minutes... within a few cms. The one on the flower was rubbing its back legs. I thought the hovering individual was waiting a turn on the flower. But, after several minutes, they flew off together. Is this part of a mating ritual, do you think. If interested, I'll try and find a way to send it (disc, dropbox?) Steve ________________________________ From: Francis Gilbert To: Stephen Harris Sent: Sunday, 26 August 2012, 13:29 Subject: RE: Hoverfly I think this is Eristalis nemorum F Dr Francis Gilbert Associate Professor of Ecology, School of Biology University Park, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK Tel: +44 (0) 115 951 3215 website: www.nottingham.ac.uk/~plzfg ecology.nottingham.ac.uk From: Stephen Harris [mailto:sjh_qw at yahoo.co.uk] Sent: 26 August 2012 13:26 To: Francis Gilbert Subject: Re: Hoverfly See previous email Could you open video clip? Steve ________________________________ From: Francis Gilbert To: Stephen Harris Sent: Wednesday, 11 July 2012, 10:12 Subject: RE: Hoverfly hi Steve You need the latest edition of Stubbs & Falk ! This is definitely Eristalis. How big was it? It looks like a dark Eristalis tenax to me, but we cannot see the face and eyes, which would be more informative. Francis From: Stephen Harris [mailto:sjh_qw at yahoo.co.uk] Sent: 11 July 2012 09:54 To: francis.gilbert at nottingham.ac.uk Subject: Hoverfly Dear Francis I have a copy of your book on Hoverflies (Naturalists' Handbooks) and am interested in the wide variety of hoverflies. I photographed this one in our garden, in Norfolk yesterday, and couldn't find it in the book, Do you know what it is? Regards Steve Harris This message and any attachment are intended solely for the addressee and may contain confidential information. If you have received this message in error, please send it back to me, and immediately delete it. Please do not use, copy or disclose the information contained in this message or in any attachment. Any views or opinions expressed by the author of this email do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Nottingham. This message has been checked for viruses but the contents of an attachment may still contain software viruses which could damage your computer system: you are advised to perform your own checks. Email communications with the University of Nottingham may be monitored as permitted by UK legislation. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From laskap at seznam.cz Fri Aug 31 10:27:43 2012 From: laskap at seznam.cz (=?iso-8859-1?Q?Pavel_L=E1ska?=) Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2012 11:27:43 +0200 Subject: [Syrphidae] Re: FW: Hoverfly video References: <37D2AE0AED301E4ABCCD948B16BD78AA3D9E339DEA@EXCHANGE1.ad.nottingham.ac.uk> Message-ID: THE HOVERFLY VIDEO IS VERY INTERESTING Pavel L?ska ----- Original Message ----- From: Francis Gilbert To: Hoverfly discussion list Sent: Friday, August 31, 2012 10:57 AM Subject: [Syrphidae] FW: Hoverfly video Dr Francis Gilbert Associate Professor of Ecology, School of Biology University Park, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK Tel: +44 (0) 115 951 3215 website: www.nottingham.ac.uk/~plzfg ecology.nottingham.ac.uk From: Stephen Harris [mailto:sjh_qw at yahoo.co.uk] Sent: 30 August 2012 16:43 To: Francis Gilbert Subject: Re: Hoverfly I posted the 15 sec clip on Youtube if you are interested in seeing it Steve http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2HunTBKS6I&feature=youtu.be ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: Francis Gilbert To: Stephen Harris Sent: Sunday, 26 August 2012, 19:40 Subject: RE: Hoverfly It's definitely mating behaviour. The male hovers above the female while she is feeding from flowers. It's actually most well known from Eristalis nemorum. There's a picture rather like yours in Stubbs & Falk. Francis Dr Francis Gilbert Associate Professor of Ecology, School of Biology University Park, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK Tel: +44 (0) 115 951 3215 website: www.nottingham.ac.uk/~plzfg ecology.nottingham.ac.uk From: Stephen Harris [mailto:sjh_qw at yahoo.co.uk] Sent: 26 August 2012 15:44 To: Francis Gilbert Subject: Re: Hoverfly Hi Francis, I tried to send you a video clip of these two hoverflies - but the file too large. I observed this behaviour the other day, and managed to get a short video clip of it. One hoverfly hovered above the other for several minutes... within a few cms. The one on the flower was rubbing its back legs. I thought the hovering individual was waiting a turn on the flower. But, after several minutes, they flew off together. Is this part of a mating ritual, do you think. If interested, I'll try and find a way to send it (disc, dropbox?) Steve ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: Francis Gilbert To: Stephen Harris Sent: Sunday, 26 August 2012, 13:29 Subject: RE: Hoverfly I think this is Eristalis nemorum F Dr Francis Gilbert Associate Professor of Ecology, School of Biology University Park, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK Tel: +44 (0) 115 951 3215 website: www.nottingham.ac.uk/~plzfg ecology.nottingham.ac.uk From: Stephen Harris [mailto:sjh_qw at yahoo.co.uk] Sent: 26 August 2012 13:26 To: Francis Gilbert Subject: Re: Hoverfly See previous email Could you open video clip? Steve ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: Francis Gilbert To: Stephen Harris Sent: Wednesday, 11 July 2012, 10:12 Subject: RE: Hoverfly hi Steve You need the latest edition of Stubbs & Falk ! This is definitely Eristalis. How big was it? It looks like a dark Eristalis tenax to me, but we cannot see the face and eyes, which would be more informative. Francis From: Stephen Harris [mailto:sjh_qw at yahoo.co.uk] Sent: 11 July 2012 09:54 To: francis.gilbert at nottingham.ac.uk Subject: Hoverfly Dear Francis I have a copy of your book on Hoverflies (Naturalists' Handbooks) and am interested in the wide variety of hoverflies. I photographed this one in our garden, in Norfolk yesterday, and couldn't find it in the book, Do you know what it is? Regards Steve Harris This message and any attachment are intended solely for the addressee and may contain confidential information. If you have received this message in error, please send it back to me, and immediately delete it. Please do not use, copy or disclose the information contained in this message or in any attachment. Any views or opinions expressed by the author of this email do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Nottingham. This message has been checked for viruses but the contents of an attachment may still contain software viruses which could damage your computer system: you are advised to perform your own checks. Email communications with the University of Nottingham may be monitored as permitted by UK legislation. __________ Informace od ESET Smart Security, verze databaze 4784 (20100118) __________ Tuto zpravu proveril ESET Smart Security. http://www.eset.cz ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _______________________________________________ Syrphidae mailing list Syrphidae at lists.nottingham.ac.uk http://lists.nottingham.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/syrphidae This message and any attachment are intended solely for the addressee and may contain confidential information. If you have received this message in error, please send it back to me, and immediately delete it. Please do not use, copy or disclose the information contained in this message or in any attachment. Any views or opinions expressed by the author of this email do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Nottingham. This message has been checked for viruses but the contents of an attachment may still contain software viruses which could damage your computer system: you are advised to perform your own checks. Email communications with the University of Nottingham may be monitored as permitted by UK legislation. __________ Informace od ESET Smart Security, verze databaze 4784 (20100118) __________ Tuto zpravu proveril ESET Smart Security. http://www.eset.cz -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From steven at sfalk.wanadoo.co.uk Fri Aug 31 14:33:49 2012 From: steven at sfalk.wanadoo.co.uk (Steven Falk) Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2012 14:33:49 +0100 Subject: [Syrphidae] Re: FW: Hoverfly video In-Reply-To: <37D2AE0AED301E4ABCCD948B16BD78AA3D9E339DEA@EXCHANGE1.ad.nottingham.ac.uk> References: <37D2AE0AED301E4ABCCD948B16BD78AA3D9E339DEA@EXCHANGE1.ad.nottingham.ac.uk> Message-ID: <8EECEB7D99144EC0B321DE46B0E2812B@desktoppc> Just a quick note to let you all know that the British Syrphidae photo collection on my Flickr sites is nearing completion, and now features some images of Eristalis cryptarum from Dartmoor, UK. http://www.flickr.com/photos/63075200 at N07/collections/72157629600153789/ A gorgeous creature now very rare in Britain. It clearly likes acidic mire with Sphagnum, Hypericum elodes etc. but I also suspect it is a poor competitor that avoids sites with strong populations of other Eristalis species and also the muscid Graphomya which predates Eristalis larvae. We found it at sites where Eristalis-attracting flowers like Angelica and Valerian were scarce. Buglife (the organisation I now work for) has an ongoing research project for this species. Does anybody have any experience of cryptarum, especially oviposition observations? Also some nice images of other Eristalis including hovering interruptus! Best wishes, Steven Steven Falk Artist - Naturalist - Photographer www.stevenfalk.co.uk Wildlife identification & information resources at: www.flickr.com/people/63075200 at N07/ _____ From: syrphidae-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk [mailto:syrphidae-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk] On Behalf Of Francis Gilbert Sent: 31 August 2012 09:58 To: Hoverfly discussion list Subject: [Syrphidae] FW: Hoverfly video Dr Francis Gilbert Associate Professor of Ecology, School of Biology University Park, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK Tel: +44 (0) 115 951 3215 website: www.nottingham.ac.uk/~plzfg ecology.nottingham.ac.uk From: Stephen Harris [mailto:sjh_qw at yahoo.co.uk] Sent: 30 August 2012 16:43 To: Francis Gilbert Subject: Re: Hoverfly I posted the 15 sec clip on Youtube if you are interested in seeing it Steve http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2HunTBKS6I &feature=youtu.be _____ From: Francis Gilbert To: Stephen Harris Sent: Sunday, 26 August 2012, 19:40 Subject: RE: Hoverfly It's definitely mating behaviour. The male hovers above the female while she is feeding from flowers. It's actually most well known from Eristalis nemorum. There's a picture rather like yours in Stubbs & Falk. Francis Dr Francis Gilbert Associate Professor of Ecology, School of Biology University Park, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK Tel: +44 (0) 115 951 3215 website: www.nottingham.ac.uk/~plzfg ecology.nottingham.ac.uk From: Stephen Harris [mailto:sjh_qw at yahoo.co.uk] Sent: 26 August 2012 15:44 To: Francis Gilbert Subject: Re: Hoverfly Hi Francis, I tried to send you a video clip of these two hoverflies - but the file too large. I observed this behaviour the other day, and managed to get a short video clip of it. One hoverfly hovered above the other for several minutes... within a few cms. The one on the flower was rubbing its back legs. I thought the hovering individual was waiting a turn on the flower. But, after several minutes, they flew off together. Is this part of a mating ritual, do you think. If interested, I'll try and find a way to send it (disc, dropbox?) Steve _____ From: Francis Gilbert To: Stephen Harris Sent: Sunday, 26 August 2012, 13:29 Subject: RE: Hoverfly I think this is Eristalis nemorum F Dr Francis Gilbert Associate Professor of Ecology, School of Biology University Park, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK Tel: +44 (0) 115 951 3215 website: www.nottingham.ac.uk/~plzfg ecology.nottingham.ac.uk From: Stephen Harris [mailto:sjh_qw at yahoo.co.uk] Sent: 26 August 2012 13:26 To: Francis Gilbert Subject: Re: Hoverfly See previous email Could you open video clip? Steve _____ From: Francis Gilbert To: Stephen Harris Sent: Wednesday, 11 July 2012, 10:12 Subject: RE: Hoverfly hi Steve You need the latest edition of Stubbs & Falk ! This is definitely Eristalis. How big was it? It looks like a dark Eristalis tenax to me, but we cannot see the face and eyes, which would be more informative. Francis From: Stephen Harris [mailto:sjh_qw at yahoo.co.uk] Sent: 11 July 2012 09:54 To: francis.gilbert at nottingham.ac.uk Subject: Hoverfly Dear Francis I have a copy of your book on Hoverflies (Naturalists' Handbooks) and am interested in the wide variety of hoverflies. I photographed this one in our garden, in Norfolk yesterday, and couldn't find it in the book, Do you know what it is? Regards Steve Harris This message and any attachment are intended solely for the addressee and may contain confidential information. If you have received this message in error, please send it back to me, and immediately delete it. Please do not use, copy or disclose the information contained in this message or in any attachment. Any views or opinions expressed by the author of this email do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Nottingham. 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