Hoverfly sightings w/c 22nd Sept 2025

When spotting hoverflies out in the field I try to find that hoverfly hot spot, this might be a glade, a woodland edge or just a flower bed. At this time of year finding that hotspot becomes a little more challenging as most of the flowers are past their best. But there is one plant that comes into its own at this time of year and that is the flowering of Ivy Hedera helix. I let it grow in my garden in the hope that come autumn it might become a hoverfly hotspot.

Hopefully I have grown a good crop and over the coming weeks it will provide me many hours of hoverfly watching just outside my backdoor.

Hoverfly - Footballer (Helophilus pendulus)

Footballer (Helophilus pendulus) Size: 11-15mm Flight: Apr- Oct.

Species of the week – 20th September

If you have a pond then this hoverfly is a likely visitor to your garden, especially around July when their numbers peak. Although its now coming to the end of its season there are still a few about, often seen basking on a leaf. See blog Garden Hoverflies

The thorax has pale yellow stripes and because of this is commonly called the footballer, as it resembles a football shirt, in particular Hull City with their amber and black striping. Other names for this wonderful species are the Tiger, which is the nickname for said football club. It is also the thorax design of this blogger's logo, chosen because of its distinctiveness. The rest of the logo design is not of Helophilus, however more information about this in a future post.

Hoverfly sightings week commencing 15th Sept 2025

Tale of Two Gardens

Stairfoot Garden 15th Sept – around 4pm

It's been a bit of a mixed weather week, a little wet & windy although still quite warm. The flora in my garden is now a little sparse, but it was nice to have the Great Pied Volucella pellucens drop in to visit the still flowering buddelia, this was the first sighting for the year in the garden.

Hoverflies Logged: 

Great Pied (Volucella pellucens), Common Banded (Syrphus ribesii)

Facts about hoverflies

Things to know about hoverflies:

     1. Hoverflies are flies meaning they have 2 wings instead of 4 like Bees, Wasps & Ants. The 2nd pair of wings have devolved into club-like structures called halteres that act as a gyroscope. They can even fly backwards as well as hover.

Hoverfly sightings September 13th 2025

Stairfoot walk along the Dearne 13^th Sept 2.30-4pm

16 degrees, sunny intervals slight breeze

We went looking for migrating butterflies and hoverflies after watching a video by Trevor Pendleton on the Youtube channel 'Ramblings of an Entomologist'. See link below if you would like to watch.

https://youtu.be/eobOGqYFjxA?si=itQN-q0OpCOZaA9b

We certainly didn’t get a Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus) but we did see a Large White (Pieris brassicae) in a hurry heading in the Sheffield direction, was it migrating?? There were however a few Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas), a Small White (Pieris rapae), a couple of Speckled Woods (Parage aegeria) and a Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) in amongst the bramble, not sure they were going anywhere.

On the Hoverfly front: