Big Head

Identification - Eristalinus megacephalus, Hoverfly.

I returned to the grove once again for today's safari, primarily because I saw a metallic steel blue fly yesterday that eluded my lens. I saw it again briefly today but once again it escaped my pixelator. I call it a fly, but it behaves more like a bee, hopping from bloom to bloom. Possibly a hoverfly, but I will return until I get my image.

I found a patch of scrub about 10m square, thigh high in places. Slightly nerve wracking wading through it, as I just know there are snakes in there. I move slowly and make plenty of noise.

Once again, plenty of material to choose from; plant hopers, flesh flies, a few butterflies, dragons, carpenter bees, honey bees, blue banded bees, cuckoo bees and a whole host of wasps of all shapes and sizes, various hoppers scrambling to get out of my way at every step.

With each movement I made, pollen was disturbed and the aroma was quite intoxicating. There was plenty of creeping foxglove which was the main target of the bugs, but the aroma was coming from a different bloom, the one featured in today's hoverfly blip. Not enough for our plant gurus to identify, but I am not a plant person, I only do bugs.

Dave