DIPTERA > BRACHYCERA | Higher Diptera

MUSCOMORPHA > ASCHIZA >  Syrphoidea > Syrphidae > Eristalinae > Cheilosiini

The Cheilosiini tribe includes Cheilosia which happens to be the largest genus of British hoverfly species together with three small genera, Ferdinandea, Portevinia and Rhingia, each represented by just one or two species. If I had more photos of Cheilosia species I would probably give them their own page but, at present, I don't have sufficient material so, to split the group down, I've now moved the two Rhingia species to the next page as they have such a different appearance.    

Cheilosia

Although Cheilosia is a particularly large genus with 38 listed species, less than half that number are normally considered as many are either rare or poorly recorded. The hoverflies field guide refers to this group as 'black jobs', although a few are furry, and comments that the genus is often dismissed due to the difficulty of separating some of the species. Fortunately, we have the excellent FB group to help with that issue.

There are around a dozen that I could find locally, so I definitely have a few more to go, because at the moment I've only managed to photograph four. The first is Cheilosia illustrata, which should be one of the easier ones to identify, although I still needed help as I failed to recognise it from the field guide. They vaguely mimic bumblebees in appearance and hopefully, now that I have a couple of photos to refer to, I shouldn't have a problem identifying them in the future. Cheilosia pagana is also quite distinctive with a shiny black body and orange antennae, although there are a couple of other similar species that also have orange antennae. Cheilosia variablis is another black species, but somewhat larger than Cheilosia pagana. They have a habit of resting with their wings slightly open which, together with other more defined features, helps distinguish them from a couple of similar species that are not actually featured in the field guide. The identity of the individual featured below is considered to be correct, but is not definite. I'm also now able to include a couple of photos of a female Cheilosia impressa, which was reasonably easy to identify from the yellow wing bases and entirely black legs.

Ferdinandea

This genus includes two species, the nationally scarce Ferdinandea ruficornis and the widespread and reasonably common Ferdinandea cuprea, which is an attractive woodland hoverfly with a metallic, brassy abdomen and an a dark thorax that has grey stripes running along the top and bristles on the sides.   

Portevinia

One of a number of hoverfly genera represented by just a single species, in this case Portevinia maculata, which is a pretty distinctive hoverfly once you've seen it for the first time. It's also a species that is only found in locations where ramsons grow, which makes it rather easy to locate if you visit a good site at the right time of the year. Interestingly, most records are of males as the females tend to stay low down in amongst the plants.

Sept.24