Gleaming

Meliscaeva auricollis was the first hoverfly I recorded this year, though I doubt this female is the same individual. It's a common species can be recorded in every month of the year in the UK, with the native population sometimes boosted by immigration during the summer. The larvae feed on aphids on a variety of plants, and the adults feed on nectar, right through from spring blossoms and summer umbellifers to autumn ivy. According to Falk, it appears during mild winters and early in the spring because it overwinters as an adult, which is unusual in hoverflies. He states that these cold weather specimens are darker than the summer brood, with more defined markings, and refers to them as the 'maculicornis' form.

Although the shimmer on the hoverfly and hyacinth petals in this photo might cause you to think that it was a nice day, I'm sorry to report that it wasn't: it was cold throughout, and the forty minutes or so I spent combing the garden with the macro at lunch time was by far the brightest part of it. Despite the temperature, the brief sunny spell did bring out a few inverts, and I was able to add a Eupeodes hoverfly and a Bombus pratorum bumblebee to my year list.