Jonas Mortelmans

Sphaerophoria fatarum

2012-01-03T11:39:00.003+01:00

This is Sphaerophoria fatarum, a species of which only males can be identified with certainty.

This male had been collected and its genitalia were checked for identification.

Allthough a carefull examination is necessary, the spots on the abdomen of this species are rather characteristic.

Untill recently (1989), the species was lumped with S.abbreviata.

Parasyrphus punctulatus

2012-01-03T11:34:00.003+01:00

This is a nice spring hoverfly. It can be found from april till june and is easy recognised by its typical spots on the abdomen, and a dark pterostigma.

It is also one of the first hooverflies I've caught (around may 2006).

Long gone or long overlooked? Chamaesyrphus lusitanicus (=Pelecocera lusitanica), Cheilosia frontalis, Eristalis alpina and Rhingia rostrata

2012-01-03T11:29:00.001+01:00

Three new additions of Diptera to the Belgian fauna: Salticella fasciata, Tephritis divisa and Conops ceriaeformis

2012-01-03T11:28:00.001+01:00

Cheilosia aerea, new for the Belgian fauna

2012-01-03T11:27:00.000+01:00

First confirmed records of Microdon mutabilis and Microdon myrmicae for Belgium

2012-01-03T11:26:00.001+01:00

Fish

2011-11-15T12:34:00.004+01:00

With Diederik, Daan and Dries, I went fishing :-)

Salmo trutta

Cottus rhenanus
Barbatula barbatula
Gasterosteus aculeatus

Fish

2011-09-28T12:27:00.007+02:00

Yesterday I went to Audreselle with Diederik, for checking some marine stuff.

One of the most beautifull fish I know, is Parablennius gattorugine "Gehoornde slijmvis". I managed to take some nice pictures of this fish!

Also some habitus pictures of Palaemon serratus "Gezaagde steurgarnaal", a common prawn.

Observations are available on observado.org

Palaemon serratus

Parablennius gattorugine

No flies, but still some nice creatures!

At the end of the day, we went to Adinkerke (B). Here we found Polietes meridionalis. It is the second observation for Belgium but it is certainly more common than now known. Typically found on Hedera. Observations of this species are certainly welcom!

Syntormon pallipes

2011-09-22T10:36:00.003+02:00

Thanks to Gert for the use of his lens, the MPE-65!

This is Syntormon pallipes, male, caught yesterday. I photoshoped the needle away ;-)

I have to practise some more with the lens. Now, I did not have flashed nor tripod, so results will improve a lot I hope :-) I certainly will try to stack pictures.

Eristalis nemorum

2011-09-03T20:28:00.003+02:00

The typical behaviour of Eristalis nemorum: one female and some males hoovering above it.

Myopites apicatus

2011-09-03T19:13:00.004+02:00

At last I found this beautifull species!

The first record of this species was in 2005 (Baugnée 2006), and since, it has been observed at least on 5 other locations. It seems the species is expanding its range, or more observations make it to the big public thanks to online datasystems like waarnemingen.be (off course, care must be taken with some observations)

The species likes to sit on Pulicaria (heelblaadjes). In dutch the species is called Heelblaadjesboorvlieg.

The last two months, I searched every piece of Pulicaria, and now, finally I found them. At Ename, several 100's were present!!!

Thanks to Hans de Blauwe for joining the excursion.

Nemotelus uliginosus

2011-07-03T21:33:00.004+02:00

Two females Nemotelus uliginosus.

I went to Sint jans Eremo today, in search for Lejops vittata. I did not find this syrphid, but i found LOTS of N.uliginosus

Also my first Eumerus sogdianus, at last :-)

Blera fallax

2011-07-03T11:07:00.005+02:00

More from the haute fagnes weekend! Above, Diederik catching some crazy waterbeetles.

Blera fallax, my favourite species all time:

And some regular swamp:

Rhingia borealis

2011-07-03T10:53:00.004+02:00

Last weekend I went to the Haute fagnes with Diederik & Daan.

Not many species, not much abundance, but some nice species though.

This is one of my favourites: Rhingia borealis! It is a bit similar to Rhingia campestris, but the snout is much different. I found this one in the Jansbach, a known location. But it was quit unexpected, since I thought (wrongly) the first generation stopped flying allready.

Some other species seen were Trichopsomyia joratensis, Laphria epphipium, Leptarthrus brevirostris, Blera fallax, Eristalis rupium, Xylota jakutorum, Cheilosia lasiopa...

Also Hippodamia septemmaculata!!! An extremely rare Coccinellidae, it was restricted to some 2m², and outside that little area I found no individuals...

A nice weekend!

Exhyalanthrax afer

2011-06-24T22:40:00.005+02:00

As promised, better pictures of Phthiria pulicaria :-)

The weather was much better than last time.

I went to De Panne this time, close to France. At one flower, many Phthiria was present.

Also Exhyalanthrax afer was here, another magnifiscent Bombylidae

Phthiria pulicaria

2011-06-17T10:01:00.003+02:00

Really bad pictures, but what a cool fly!

I went searching for Phthiria's (soort wolzwever) last week, but the weather was so bad I found nothing. Today was better weather, and I found some 30 individuals. Phthiria's are characteristic for dunes, often (always?) found on yellow flowers. They are tiny animals and very chill. I will certainly try to take some better pictures.

In Oostduinkerke, a big field of Crepis (=the yellow flower) is present, so it was the ultimate place to search. Tephritis crepidis and Ensina sonchi also present in big numbers :-) I assume this species is more restricted to Oostduinkerke/de Panne whichs has more natural dunes. In Ostend I have searched for it last year, but unsuccesfull!

The top picture is a female, the bottom one a male which is way more dark. I only saw one male that day..

Jonas

Haematopota pluvialis

2011-06-15T15:26:00.002+02:00

A very nice male H.pluvialis! Sometimes, the top half of the eyes is all white, which always give me a kick in the field when I see them flying. Don't know why this is, but I like it :-)

Viervlek

2011-05-23T22:12:00.002+02:00

Laphria flava

2011-05-23T18:03:00.003+02:00

I was hoping to get the chance to photograph this fly decently. Finally :-)

Its a really big robberfly, and it always sits on the top of branches where it has a good view on approaching beetles. Often, it comes sitting on your shoulder or head, since it has a good view then.

Cheilosia pagana

2011-05-20T16:45:00.004+02:00

An easy recognisable species with bare eyes, bicolored legs and redish antena.

Platycheirus discimanus

2011-04-09T20:21:00.001+02:00

An amazing species! Bad picture, I know ;) Thanks to Jan Versigghel for showing me this beauty!

Rhingia campestris

2011-04-08T20:45:00.002+02:00

This is Rhingia campestris, licking Lady's smock. This year, I hope to see its 2 much rares brothers, R. rostralis and R. borealis, which can both be found in the Haute fagnes... Wish me luck! Jonas

Ctenophora flaveolata

2011-04-08T20:32:00.003+02:00

Very nice fly! The males of this spectacular Tipulidae are characterised by its antennae, with huge appendices.

The species, Ctenophora flaveolata is a common and widespread species, often found in forests. Its the only Ctenophora with continuous yellow bands on the tergites, and a hypopygium with a big appendage.

Syrphidae are starting to fly in big numbers! Yay!!

Trigonometopus frontalis

2011-02-11T20:10:00.002+01:00

This fly, Trigonometopus frontalis, is one of the coolest flies I've ever met! It is a rather atypical Lauxanidae member, but very distinctive. I have found this one in the Lorraine, northern france. I did a very nice weekend with Daan, Diederik, Dries and Sofie.

We focused on bats and birds, but from time to time, I checked some flies and ants. We have seen 7 bat species, which is nice :-) More pictures of this weekend can be found on my homepage (see link on the right)

Tephritis neessii

2011-02-11T17:50:00.003+01:00

A very nice Tephritidae, common in Belgium. Adults can be found during winter, they can survive winter as adults.
At Heiberg (near Herentals), a nice heathland area, I found several specimens. Tephritis vespertina was also present.

Trichocera saltator

2011-01-13T18:40:00.004+01:00

Trichoceridae (wintermuggen) are one of the least studied diptera-families in Belgium. The exact number of species occuring in Belgium are fluctuating between 6 and 10! Some species of this family like T. relegationis are easy recognisable, but others, like the one photographed can only be identified with carefull study of the genitalia.

Luckily, I could catch this one after photographing it. It is Trichocera saltator, a species I caught in my garden last year as well.

Winter time is the best period to spot Trichoceridae, when males form swarms.

Jonas

Aphrosylus celtiber

2010-11-09T10:43:00.002+01:00

I have been catching some coastal flies lately. One of the bigger flies I've seen was Aphrosylus celtiber. This species was present in big numbers at the beach of Ostend. It has really big palps, and males flash it often. When seen from the right angle, the palps are silverish-white - very very cool to see!

Some Fucellia, Canace and Scathopha species were present as well.
Jonas

Rhamphomyia erythrophthalma

2010-10-20T11:09:00.003+02:00

This is a female Rhamphomyia erythrophthalma, thanks to Paul Beuk for identification! I don't know much about it, but I like the picture :-)
Jonas

Pelecocera tricinta

2010-10-11T11:28:00.005+02:00

This is one of my favourite hoverflies: Pelecocera tricincta. I did not expect to see them this weekend, since they normaly don't flie so late (most records occur in july and august-beginning of september). Reemer 2009 mentions the existance of a opportunistic 3th generation. Frequency maps on http://www.waarnemingen.be/ gives this graph: very nice :-)
CLICK HERE

Pelecocera can be seen frequent in Herentals (B), where some nice heathland is present. In Belgium, it is a very rare species. Pelecocera tricincta can be found rapidly by checking yellow flowers. This weekend, I saw 4 specimens sitting on one flower - very cool to see :D

I suppose heathland area nearby contains Pelecocera as well (Turhouts vennegebied, Lille, ...)

In dutch: bijlsprietje - refers to its nice antennae :-)

Fucellia spec.

2010-10-01T12:26:00.003+02:00

When autumn falls, and flies stop flying, I start to check more dull species. Like this Fucellia species (Anthomyiidae), it is photographed on seeweed, and was present in big numbers.

I'm still checking which species it is, but for now, I did not manage to find a key...
Jonas

Salticella fasciata

2010-09-22T18:14:00.002+02:00

As mentioned in the last message - I found 2 males Salticella fasciata today. This is a new species for Belgium - allready the 4th new species for Belgium I found this year :D

In the field I first thought it was some special Scathophagidae, but when home, I checked more carefully and I soon saw it certainly was not a Scathophagidae.

With Oosterbroek's key to family, I ended up with Salticella (sciomyzidae), and since there is only one species in Europe, determination was closed. Salticella fasciata.

I found this species at two sites today, very remarkable! The first in the dunes (by sweeping Eryngium), the second in the harbour of Ostend (an ancient train bedding). Both are dry environments - what this species needs.

I hope to photograph this animal tomorrow 'in the wild' :D Wish me luck :-)
What a beast!

Jonas

Dichetophora obliterata

2010-09-22T17:30:00.003+02:00

Very nice fly! It is the first time I can observe this cool fly
I saw several specimens in the dunes near Raversijde (B). Much of its ecology is unknown.

Please look at its beautifull arista and subtle wing markings.
The picture is actually a lucky shot, I saw one male sitting, approached gentle, took this photo and directly after the photo, it flew away.

I also saw Salticella fasciata at the same locality, it is a Sciomyzidae as well. Also a new one for me.. 2 new species on one day - it's like in may :-)

Visit collection at Gembloux

2010-09-21T20:08:00.016+02:00

I visited Gembloux today to check Thecophora (Conopidae), not many Belgian material was present, so I quickly ended up with foreign material. I finaly got a nice insight in Thecophora pusilla auct., and now I will return one more time to Brussels for ending this revision.

Thanks to Guy Tomasovic for introducing me to Gembloux and his help.

The collection in Gembloux is wonderfull, but you have to search for the things you want to see very carefully. After I checked all Thecophora material, I checked Hippoboscidae and Nycteribidae material, since I have plans for an update on these two genusus.

After this, I wanted to check some Syrphids... In the collection at Gembloux, several nice species should be present. Scaeva mecogramma is one of them, I searched, but did not find the specimen.

I first started to search Syrphidae :-) it was hidden behind some noctural butterflies - check picture :D After I found Syrphidae, I quickly checked some specimens (time was running up)

Beside Scaeva, i'd wanted (with some advice from Frank vande Meutter) to check Pipizella penninna (did not find), Chaemaesyrphus (1 lustitanicus, falsly identified as C.scaevoides), Eristalis pseudorupium (present! but is it one??), Cheilosia aerea (amongst C. proxima, one female, very obvious), Cheilosia nebulosa (I didn't find C.nebulosa.. but I found another closet when I had to leaf, so probably in here).

I also 'browsed' the collection.. Amongst E.pertinax, one specimen was atypical. A big-headed female E.alpina!!!

In the 'belgian' collection, many material from the alps and far east is. Sometimes, a big row of belgian material is present and then, one specimen from the alps is there. From time to time, a Eristalis cryptarum showed up :-) what a beast. Also Spilomyia, present in numbers (also from belgium!)

Eristalis pseudorupium ??

Eristalis jugorum

Diopsis spec. (somewhere in Asia - did not write location down)

Eristalis alpina (amongst E.pertinax)

Spilomyia diophthalma (not belgium ;))

Microdon latifrons - yes.. cut from a pine tree... (not belgium)

Orthonevra splendens (all from Belgium!) - O.stackelberghi as well?

Somebody smoked a lot.. All Syrphids were preserved in cigaret boxes.

A workplace, with good binoculars, appart from the main collection - so you don't have to sit in the smell of desinfection material all day...

Definately have to go back for the Syprhidae!! I had to be so quickly I think I missed some species.

Very nice!

Campiglossa plantaginis

2010-09-20T20:21:00.005+02:00

This little wonderfull, but rather scarce fly kept me busy all august. I wanted to see this Tephritidae really bad. It is bound to Aster trifolium (Zulte) and I supposed it would be easy by searching for Aster trifolium... Not!

I searched for it everywhere were Aster trifolium was present, unsuccesfull untill last week. A sweep in the vegetation resulted in 20, 30 specimens.

Today I succeeded in photographing it.
Jeuj!

Tephritis divisa

2010-09-05T17:18:00.004+02:00

This is already my 3th new species for Belgium in 2010!

It is (just like the two previous new ones) a southern species, occuring in all countries near the Mediterranean sea (Spain, southern France, Greece, Israel...). From the Netherlands or Germany, it is not known.

The species is strickly bound to "Dubbelkelk" Picris echioides, and this was indeed the plant were I found these very nice flies on. I found them on accident, since I was searching for Campiglossa plantaginis (I found them ;) this species is bound to Aster trifolium)

And the best part is, I found them in Oostende, were I live. Within 10 minutes I can reach this magnificent creatures. Jeuj! And thank you, Valery, for confirming them to be T.divisa! (Tephritis is perhaps the most difficult genus in Tephritidae, and this species, can easily be mistaken for T. separata or other Tephritis species.)

This is the location, with me catching some flies :-)

Conops ceriaeformis

2010-09-05T17:08:00.003+02:00

New for Belgium!

22 august I discovered a female Conops ceriaeformis in an ancient quarry near Virton. Lots of nice Syrphids were present as well such as Cheilosia velutina, a new species for me.

The sand lizzard Lacerta agilis is present here as wel, but we did not manage to see it.

At the same weekend, at another location, we saw the Edible dormouse (Glis Glis) very nice, it was jumping from one tree to another. And later that evening, we saw even more dormouse, in the attic of a house. We didn't expect them in this attic - very nice!

And at a chalcareous grassland, we heard and saw hundruds of tree criquets (Oecanthus pelluscens). I'm very glad to see this species! It is one of the last Orthoptera i did not saw in Belgium.

Thanks Daan and Nola for the nice weekend.

Tephritidae

2010-08-11T21:04:00.003+02:00

A book that earns a place on my 10.000 visits a day-blog.

A new book by John Smit is available here: click here It deals with Tephritidae (boorvliegen) in Belgium and the Netherlands. And waw, I'm impressed.

Before this book, a key was available, but it was in German and very difficult to key out till species level (Merz 1994). Because of this, I usually put Tephritidae in my 'to do when I have time-box'.

With this new key, I checked all my Tephritidae (some 50 specimens) in 1u20minutes (13 species :)). It is a very nice key, with nice ecology and additional characteristics.

If the author ever reads this: very nice!

I started collecting some galls (the swellings on plants..) today. I'm very curious what will be the outcome. I have some Leontodon galls from the dune area.

Allright :))
Very nice.

Helophilus hybridus

2010-07-26T20:11:00.001+02:00

Not the best pic, but I tried to photograph this picture for a long time. It is a gigiant Helophilus, with a black stripe on its face, dark-yellow spots on its abdomen, tars 1 and 2 dark, little yellow on femur3/tibia3...

Nice species!
(dutch; moeraspendelzweefvlieg)

Poecilobothrus nobilatus

2010-07-26T19:42:00.004+02:00

Yesterday, I decided to focus on only some families, because it is all getting 'to much' and I can never keep up with all cool families out there... I will keep up with (in order of interest): Syrphidae (of course), Stratiomyidae, Asilidae and Tabanidae. And not least, I will start studying Dolichopodidae.

This is a first start.. Poecilobothrus nobilatus.
A very common species which can be found everywhere where it is moist (even in bird-pools). On the picture, a male, which can be recognised by its beautifull wing marks and huge genitalia (like all Dolicho's). Very cool to see how several males are waving their wings to impress the females. The one on the second picture does this.

Jonas

Acrosathe annulata

2010-07-25T20:42:00.002+02:00

This is Acrosathe annulata (zandviltvlieg), a common species on sandy soils (whole coastline and 'de kempen').

It is one of my favourite flies and I have put much time to take this picture. And I'm satiesfied with the result.

Chyliza vittata

2010-06-26T20:49:00.002+02:00

This very nice Psilidae was found on Les Abanays - Viroinval, beginning of june.

When capturing a specimen for determination (the photographed specimen is collected!), another specimen came in its place. It was pretty clear this plant (Neottia nidus-avis) would help ID'ing this fly.

And indeed, Chyliza vittata-larvae are living in roots of Neottia nidus-avis. The fly itself can be found troughout Europe, but not very rare. Where Neottia nidus-avis is present, Chyliza vittata is most likely present.

At the photo, a female is laying eggs. This behaviour was seen on leaves, flowers and stems.

Merodon rufus

2010-06-25T23:26:00.000+02:00

Merodon rufus, EXTREMELY rare :D:D:D

Microdon myrmicae

2010-06-25T23:23:00.002+02:00

This very rare hoverfly is Microdon myrmicae.
It flies very slow and clumpsy, nevertheless, hard to photograph.

The adults cannot be distinguished from Microdon mutabilis, but pupae can! Luckely we found some pupae.

Sericomyia lappona

2010-06-02T17:36:00.002+02:00

This very nice hooverfly with its red legs is occuring only in bogs or fens (veen en ven-gebieden).

In belgium, it can be seen in big numbers in the haute fagnes. At other sites, numbers are way lower.

Sphegina clunipes

2010-06-02T17:32:00.003+02:00

Another one from the haute fagnes...
This very elegant, but very tiny hoverfly practically always visits white umbellifers. Here it is feeding on Anthriscus.

Always nice to see them, cause none of this genus, are occuring in Ostend!

Cheilosia variabilis

2010-06-02T14:14:00.004+02:00

This hairy hoverfly is called Cheilosia variabilis, "Bosgitje", common nearby forest edges, often hoovering in front of it.

Here, it is feeding on Meum athamanticum.

I photographed this one in the hautes fagnes last weekend with Daan Dekeukeleire. We mostly saw rain :-)

Although, on the sunny saterdaymorning, I start catching hooverflies from 6a.m., and at 12a.m., I had 12 hooverfly-lifers. Most special sightigs were Brachyopa vittata,Dasysyrphus lenensis, Cheilosia vulpina, Cheilosia pubera, Eriozona syrphoides, Eristalis rupium, Euphydryas aurinia, Cheilosia vicina, Sphaerophoria philanthus, etc etc..

Check: http://waarnemingen.be/user/view/40034

Dasysyrphus albostriatus

2010-05-14T20:13:00.003+02:00

Dasysyrphus albostriatus, one of the most beautifull syrphids, it can be easy recognised by the two dust-stripes on its thorax.

It is a very common hoverfly, but it is in decline! This species can be found most often in open areas in or near deciduous forest. In spring, when it has its first generation, mostly males are seen. This specimen is also male. Males are often seen hoovering just above capturing-height (I just cant reach the hoovering ones!)

Cheilosia nebulosa

2010-04-28T16:07:00.003+02:00

Not the nicest pictures, I know, but what a great species this is! I have found this Cheilosia nebulosa in De panne, 18april 2010.

This species is one of the few lucky ones, which has no dutch name!

In the Netherlands, this species has never been seen. Its range lies mainly in mountain areas and in northern countries. For example, a few reliable claims are coming from the hautes fagnes (where it is very rare!). Some -less reliable- observations are coming from Gembloux. In England, this species can be found troughout the country, but it is declining fast.

From mainland perspective, it is nearly impossible that it has reached De Panne. Most logic explanation for the finding of the species in De Panne, is that is has crossed the sea!

Very nice Syrphid! And a great finding :-):-)

Jonas

Syritta pipiens

2010-04-28T15:34:00.004+02:00

Very cool and common syrphid.
Most often, this species is hoovering between the vegetation in a typical flight, flying forward, backwards, shaking a bit...

Looks like a little flying stick - personal impression. It also has a very large 3th femur.

Common all year long, also in your garden! :-)

Hooverfly season has burst lose, on a trip with Pieter VT an Frank vdM last sunday, 51 species were caught in a forest near Nieuwenhoven (LI). A few specialities were Pipiza luteitarsis, Heringia brevidens, Heringia vitripennis and Heringia pubescens. Criorhina ranunculi and Brachypalpus laphriformis also present. And some Brachyopas too. Nice and educative day!

jeuj!

Cheilosia albipila

2010-04-13T17:29:00.003+02:00

This is a male Cheilosia albipila (tweekleurig gitje). This is a very common spring-species.
Males are often seen hoovering above the vegetation. When they do this, they look two-coloured (the dutch name.. two-couloured Cheilosia...).

Very easy to recognise!

This weekend I'll be going to 'de voerstreek'. I'm hoping fore some Mallota's and if lucky Heringia verrucula (never seen in Belgium, but it is expected in this region!)

Malaisetrap

2010-03-29T16:31:00.002+02:00

My malaisetrap is set!

Last year it only was in use for 2 months, set up in the belgian dunes.
This year, a full season will be checked, in a recovering, moist rivervalley. I hope to catch some interesting Stratiomyidae!

Pictures will follow!
Springtime :) :)

Leucophenga maculata

2010-02-04T19:21:00.003+01:00

This is a very nice fly, one of the most wonderfull I have ever seen.
I found this one in a cave in northern france together with several Heleomyza captiosa's.

A lot can be said about this beauty, when I have time...

Rhamphomyia cinerascens

2010-01-09T17:58:00.002+01:00

This family, I cannot (yet) determine myself, so I had a little help.
This species was very numerous one day (1000+) and the next week, only a few were seen (+-10).

Rhamphomyia species are hard to identify, but this species can be identified by its black wing markings of the female (well visible in the picture of the mating couple)

Rhingia campestris

2010-01-06T20:44:00.002+01:00

Rhingia campestris (gewone snuitvlieg), yet another very common hoverfly. It is the only hoverfly in our region with such a long snout (in the haute fagnes, be carefull, two other Rhingia species can be found there, in certain areas those are very common)

Its larvae live in dung.

I hope to photograph the two other Rhingia species as well in 2010. To be continued.

Myathropa florea

2010-01-06T20:37:00.001+01:00

Another very common syrphid, Myathropa florea (doodskopzweefvlieg), which can be recognised by its remarkable thorax.

This figure resembles a skull, and thats where the dutch name comes from.

To be found nearly everywhere.

Eristalis pertinax

2010-01-06T16:54:00.003+01:00

Eristalis pertinax, the most common syrphid in Belgium and surrounding countries.. This species must be present on my diptera blog.

Here it is showing its typical features to us (the typical yellow tars 1 and 2). No other Eristalis species has this feature, so it is easily determined.

This spring I hope to take photos of some more Eristalis species (like Eristalis jugorum :-))

Tabanus cf bromius

2010-01-06T16:27:00.004+01:00

10th of july, 2009. Olloy.

This is most probably Tabanus bromius (kleine runderdaas), but I am not shure. I didn't manage to catch the photographed animal... At the same locality I caught another T. bromius.

T. bromius is a common fly in southern Belgium (ardennen) and can be found rather easily in meadows.

Conformations on the identity of this fly are welcome.

Uria aalge

2010-01-05T22:28:00.004+01:00

Finally got the chance to test my new Canon body!
A upgrade from 300D to 40D, magnificent! Because I cant find flies in winter, I photographed some birds. Here a oil-victem, Uria aalge, cleaning itself.

My best wishes for 2010, for all of you. I will try to specialise in photographing flies this year, so beware!

Another 3 months till march and the first Melangyna's...

Hautes fagnes - obs

2009-06-22T12:03:00.003+02:00

Now all the collected material has been checked; here are the most important observations:
Sphegina sibirica, Brachyopa vittata, Cheilosia vicina, Eristalis jugorum, Leucozona inopinata, Dysmachus picipes, Chalcosyrphus valgus, Arctophila bombiformis, Brachyopa testacea, Brachypalpus laphriformis, Cheilosia barbata, Cheilosia himantopus, Chrysogaster virescens, Chrysotoxum arcuatum, Didea alneti, Eristalis rupium, Eupeodes lapponicus (en mass), Heringia pubescens, Pipiza quadrimaculata, Microdon major, Parasyrphus annulatus, Sericomyia lappona, Xylota jakutorum, Xylota florum, Megasyrphus erraticus, Hybomitra micans, Platycheirus parmatus, Platycheirus europaeus and so on, and so on.

I had 31 diptera-lifers, which is nice :-)

On the picture is Pieter Vantieghem.

Microdon major

2009-06-20T16:53:00.005+02:00

Not the best picture, I know..
But this hoverfly is great!

The european Microdon taxonomy has been changed recently. It appeared that Microdon analis sl has 2 cryptic species: Microdon major and Microdon analis ss.

The adults can not be separated one another, but differences can be found in the structure of the larval skin.

Another good character is the host species. The larvae of M. major lives with Formica-species (mostly Formica sanguinea), and larvae of M. analis lives with Lasius species.

Near the place where the picture was taken (on a Formica sanguinea nest), several larval skins where found.

For now, only 1 population Microdon major is known! It was found by Frank Van de Meutter, Pieter Vantieghem and Bastiaan Wakkie in may 2009. Allright!

Arctophila bombiformis

2009-06-18T18:28:00.003+02:00

This rare hoverfly looks like a Bombus terrestris (Aardhommel). The similarity is extraordinary!

We only found one individual during our trip, allthough we had been searching for it the whole time :-)

Blera fallax

2009-06-18T14:01:00.001+02:00

Blera fallax (roodkapje) is a very rare and very nice syrphid. It is one of my favourite hoverflys!
Mmm, Blera!

Hybomitra distinguenda

2009-06-18T13:49:00.007+02:00

Spended one day and a half in 'the hautes fagnes', belgium.

It was fun :-)

More diptera-pictures will follow.

Some butterfly-sightings: Aporia crataegi (groot geaderd witje), Lycaena helle and L. hippothoe (blauwe en rooie vuurvlinder), Boleria eunomia (ringoogparelmoer), Boleria selene (zilverenmaan), Erebia medusa (voorjaarserebia)...

And a list of observed syrphids will be posted later.
Picture is a male Hybomitra distinguenda :o)

More pictures will follow

Done!

2009-06-12T15:43:00.004+02:00

And now, back studying...

Syrphus vitripennis

2009-06-12T15:27:00.003+02:00

This Syrphus is very similar to Syrphus torvus and Syrphus ribesii. On pictures, it is impossible to distinguish the three species.

That's why I caught it :-)

Lots of Dolichopodidae and Platycheirus in my garden garden today! I hope to photograph some of the Platycheirus scutatus that are present for the moment. Next break ;)

Episyrphus balteatus

2009-06-11T15:29:00.006+02:00

My favourite weather for taking pictures: dark rainy sky's!

I finally succeed in what I have been trying to do so many times: take a picture of a flying Episyrphus balteatus. The abdomen could be a little sharper, but hey, she's flying.

Cool thing about this fly, is that the colour of the abdomen depends on the temperature. Early in spring (cold!) dark specimens will appear, in summer, lighter species appear.

Today I saw Eupeodes lapponicus as well in my garden! This is an invasive species and this year - he's invading! Hope to take some proper pictures of it (it is 'hanging aroud')

And another invasive species, Eristalis similis, was seen as well in my garden today.

Coenosia spec

2009-06-11T10:34:00.004+02:00

Because it's a cool fly! To bad I didn't succeed in catching it...

Platycheirus clypeatus

2009-06-10T13:14:00.003+02:00

Platycheirus clypeatus is a common species in wetland areas. This one was photographed end april. Very cool is that they are mostly active in the morning. At noon, almost no individuals can be found.

This species is nearly identical to P. europaeus and P. occultus (before 1990 these 3 species, were considered 1)

Dioctria atricapilla

2009-06-05T15:46:00.003+02:00

This common robber fly (roofvlieg) is Dioctria atricapilla.
Please notice the colour of the eyes! Only males have this kind of eyes.

And I have some good news as well, yesterday my Malaise trap arrived, and for the moment it is catching flys in a beautifull dune area near Ostend :-)

And even more good news - a new hoverfly species is recorded for Belgium: Psilota exilistyla Smit & Vujic, 2008! Welcome to the list.

Lejogaster metallina

2009-06-01T18:23:00.004+02:00

For all my foreign friends (lol), I will post in English from now on..

This one is very cool, thats why I added it! Its abdomen and thorax are shiny green - very nice! Mainly occurs in wet environments. For the plant-lovers, it is sitting on Valeriana dioica (kleine valeriaan) - very rare :)

Sphenella marginata

2009-06-01T15:17:00.003+02:00

Bij deze, mijn blog! Kga vooral mijn goeie diptera-foto's erop zwieren met wat uitleg erbij... Enjoy!

Zopas even in de tuin gekropen en direct een dikke schaamsoort van de lijst gewerkt: Sphenella marginata!

Zat lekker rustig met zn vleugeltjes te zwaaien zoals boorvliegjes dat wel meer doen. Ze leggen hun eitjes in Senecio-species (kruiskruid-toestanden) Overigens een erg vroeg exemplaar!

Verder zaten er ook Eumerus funeralis'sen rond te vliegen, dit zijn vrij zeldzame zweefvliegen. Opnieuw, een vette lifer! Foto's? Later misschien...