15 August 2010

Volucella zonaria

I came across Volucella zonaria today beside the Neath Canal near the square pond. It is a very large and striking hoverfly, close in size to that of a bumblebee. It is a Hornet mimic.
This species became established in the Britain in the 1940s and seems to be spreading out from the South-east. In much the same way as Bombus hypnorum , but not quite as dramatically!

This link from the NBN shows its distribution in the UK, however it is a little better recorded in Glamorgan than this map suggests. With a number of records from Cardiff, Ogmore (vicinity) and Maesteg. http://data.nbn.org.uk/gridMap/gridMap.jsp?allDs=1&srchSpKey=NBNSYS0000007098"

On the saltmarsh near here a flock of 22 juv shelduck flying through and also 3 Egyptian Geese was unusual.

4 comments:

Barry Stewart said...

Still not seen this one Mark - good record.

Mark Hipkin said...

I doubt that will continue to be the case for too much longer. It was really enjoying the Buddleja davidii, although I'm not sure whether that will help find this species. Does this sighting indicate the presence of Hornets in these parts also? The NBN maps of each are very similar.

Barry Stewart said...

No Hornets this far west - Monmouthshire is the nearest place I have seen them.

Barry Stewart said...

Apparently Jenny Colley caught 6 Hornets in her Resolven moth trap last night!