daveh
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Posts: 4,696
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Post by daveh on Apr 9, 2012 15:36:40 GMT -5
Dig Dawg asked on his great 'small birds' thread "what is a hoverfly". I suppose the short answer is that a hoverfly is a fly that hovers. In British gardens in the summer they are plentiful. They can be seen hovering for two or three seconds, then suddenly darting to a new position. I haven't looked up the exact scientific definition. Many have yellow and black stripes to warn off predators. When landed most have their wings open like an ordinary fly, though some do have closed wings. I have posted several photos of them over the last year or so, but here are some I haven't posted before: 1 & 2 are the most common in our garden, with either no banding on the thorax, or just light banding. 3. with its strong vertical thorax banding occasionally pops in. 5,6 & 7 also seem less frequent. Perhaps this year I shall try doing a head count and also try to properly identify them.
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daveh
Lifetime Member
Posts: 4,696
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Post by daveh on Apr 9, 2012 15:58:06 GMT -5
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