Flies & Frogs

Common Frog (Rana temporaria), originally uploaded by Pipsissiwa.

The weather was so beautiful yesterday that I had to be in the garden, despite a rotten cough and sore throat. I sat on the grass in the sun and happily watched the pond.

Brindled Hoverflies are already returning to stake their claim (they lay their eggs in the water), early bees stop for a drink and all sorts of little bugs and beetles roam among the plants.

There are still plenty of fly larvae wriggling on the surface as an adult fly emerges, which never ceases to amaze me how ever many times I see it. Damselfly, dragonfly and mayfly larvae are everywhere in the water and daphnia are increasingly abundant. The various plants are growing rapidly now too, so the pond is really starting to look good.

All this cheered me up no end, but none so much as spotting something larger just peeping out of the water on the far side of the pond. I admit, I audibly squeaked with excitement when I realised I was looking at a young frog.

Moments later I spotted a second. They were obviously young, being much smaller than an adult frog, and are almost certainly last year's babies. Very relaxed, they seemed quite happy to let me photograph them.

So now I know that both newts and frogs survived the cold and snowy winter successfully, probably in the log pile that borders the pond. I am thrilled about how successful setting up the pond has been. Full of clear, sweet smelling water and teeming with a huge variety of life, it doesn't look like it has only been there for 9 months. All the time, care and research I used to get it set up properly has obviously paid off!

Winter into Spring

The pond is starting to come alive after the winter. All the plants are shooting and growing, and the marsh marigolds are covered in buds. Peering into the water I have seen lots of Daphnia (water fleas) and many types of insect larvae swimming around.

I can't identify them all, but there are mayfly larvae (which is no surprise since I watched mayflies emerge from the water last August), and rat-tailed maggots which are hoverfly larvae. These latter are often associated with stagnant water, but I watched the adult Brindled Hoverflies mating and laying their eggs in the pond last summer, and it certainly isn't stagnant!

Sadly, there is no frog or newt spawn this year, but that doesn't surprise me as our little babies from last year are too young to breed yet, and there aren't many ponds around here for 'local' amphibians to have come from. One bit of good news on the amphibian front however; I disturbed a young newt basking in the sun-warmed shallow waters a couple of days ago. So at least one of our newtlets survived the very cold and snowy winter!

Hornet Hoverfly (Volucella Sp.)

Hornet Hoverfly (Volucella Sp.), originally uploaded by Pipsissiwa.

A huge hoverfly, when I spotted it from across the garden I genuinely thought it was a hornet. It has a distinctive yellow face and smoky coloured wings. I'm not 100% sure of the species, but I'm sure it is a member of the Volucella genus which contains a variety of bee and wasp minics.

Fly

Fly, originally uploaded by Pipsissiwa.

There are so many species of fly, it is hard to pin this one down, but it has an attractive yellow and grey abdomen. I love this photo as the fly contrasts beautifully with the lime-green euphorbia flowers on which it was feeding.

Brindled Hoverfly (Helophilus pendulus)

Brindled Hoverfly (Helophilus pendulus), originally uploaded by Pipsissiwa.

I've got huge numbers of hoverfly species that enjoy my garden in the summer, but this one is my favourite. It has attractive banding with a central line on the abdomen, and wonderful yellow and black stripes on the thorax, unlike most other species. It looks a bit like it has a footie shirt on :)

Mosquito Larva

Mosquito Larva, originally uploaded by Pipsissiwa.

The humble mosquito. Fortunately, the female (who is the one that bites) don't like me too much, so I don't get those annoying itchy bites very often. Whilst the females will lay their eggs in any standing water, and I often find them in trays or buckets I've left outside, this larva was found in a garden pond belonging to a friend. There were hundreds of them, all trying not to be eaten by newts. They hang just beneath the surface with a breathing tube like a snorkel from their rear end. When startled, they twist and wriggle and dive down deeper for a few seconds.

Fly (Rhingia campestris)

Fly (Rhingia campestris), originally uploaded by Pipsissiwa.

When I first spotted this fly enjoying Ajuga nectar one spring, I had to give it a double-take. At first I thought it was two flies mating, but on closer inspection I realised that it had this extraordinary and distinctive protrusion in the front of the head. Unmistakable and easy to identify.

Drone Fly

Drone Fly, originally uploaded by Pipsissiwa.

A beautiful example of mimicry. This is a fly, but it looks a lot like a bee to avoid getting eaten. It has no sting. The single pair of wings coupled with haltares (balance organs under each wing not clearly visible in this pic) and the eyes give it away. This is actually one of the hoverflies, and is very acrobatic in ways that bees generally are not.

Fly

Fly, originally uploaded by Pipsissiwa.

I am unsure of the species of this nondescript grey, red-eyed fly, but I was thrilled by the photo opportunity presented by its choice of resting place.

Fly

Fly, originally uploaded by Pipsissiwa.

Not sure in species on this one, but it has a lovely yellow abdomen and deep burgundy-red eyes.

Mating Flies

Mating Flies, originally uploaded by Pipsissiwa.

Ah, the cycle of life. I see these tiny flies all the time in the summer, usually sitting right at the tip of blades of grass as this pair are, presumably waiting for a mate. Notice how much smaller the male is than the female.

Greenbottle Fly (Lucillia caesar)

Greenbottle Fly (Lucillia caesar), originally uploaded by Pipsissiwa.

Everyone is familiar with greenbottles and bluebottles, your standard summer flies that buzz around the living room windows. What we typically overlook is how beautiful these insects actually are. The metallic green colouring is amazingly in sunlight, and contrasts nicely with the deep red compound eyes.

Flesh-Fly (Sarcophaga carnaria)

Flesh-Fly (Sarcophaga carnaria), originally uploaded by Pipsissiwa.

A very common but attractive fly, with bright red eyes and large feet. The abdomen is a muted chequered grey and black. They breed, as the name suggests, on the remains of dead animals and are therefore strongly associated with spreading disease. Unusually they do not lay eggs and are in fact viviparous - the female produces live larvae.

Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)

Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus), originally uploaded by Pipsissiwa.

A very common large (10-15mm) hover-fly with distinctive additional thin black stripes on the 3rd and 4th abdominal segments. The hovering really helps when trying to capture one in flight, although they do tend to dive around a lot. A bit of patience and I managed to get this shot, which I am delighted with.

Long-Bodied Hover-fly (Sphaerophoria scripta)

Long-Bodied Hoverfly (Sphaerophoria scripta), originally uploaded by Pipsissiwa.

A long, slim (10-12mm) hover-fly. The abdominal stripes are variable but it always has a horizontal stripe on each side of the thorax. In the male ( as this one is) the abdomen is noticeably longer than the wings, which makes them a distinctive and attractive hover-fly.