Jeff Clarke Ecology

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The Unexpected Invert

The Unexpected Invert

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All images unless otherwise stated © Jeff Clarke 2011

You never know when a new species is going to come your way. Admittedly if you study invertebrates the odds that you will find something different are rather better than if you only ever record birds, or mammals. On Saturday 20th August I was leading a 'Bumblebee and Bugs' walk for the Friends of Runcorn Hill when one of our party, David Watmore, potted a fly and brought it across for me to identify. It was obviously a hoverfly, a large one at that. I suspected that it was a Volucella species and wondered if it was Volucella zonaria. I retained the specimen and took it home for further ID. I consulted my copy of Stubbs and Falk and it was immediately obvious that it wasn't zonaria, but another candidate quickly became apparent. Further detailed examination soon determined it to be Volucella inanis. I couldn't recall ever having seen this species before. I then checked the map records of RECORD and the NBN Gateway. No records for Cheshire. I then contacted Paul Hill who is the Cheshire Hoverfly Recorder and he confirmed that it had not previously been recorded in the county. Its amazing what you can find even in nature reserves that overlook one of Britain's most industrialised landscapes, complete with soon to be commisioned incinerator.

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