#may2020

🍒: Children's day

⤷⚔️: Coups hyung eats well ㅎㅎㅎ Oguogu ㅋㅋㅋ

Black-Shouldered Drone Fly - Eristalis dimidiata

Seems I’m a bit nostalgic, revisiting insects that have had a limited showcase here. Thanks to the cold, there aren’t many insects outside at the moment, but this is an opportunity to flesh out some fascinating creatures, clear out the backlog and hopefully delight you with some nice pictures. As Picture 10 showcases, this insect is a small Fly in a large world. It’s just the right size to visit and pollinate the small flowers in nature, including the enticing goldenrod flowers which draws many visitors when in bloom. A familiar looking specimen, it’s a close relative of the Common Drone Fly and the Transverse Hoverfly. At a passing glance, it almost looks like a melanistic version of the latter with the identifiable (and characteristic) white lines around the abdomen. There’s a examples here that are slightly more golden than usual with some yellow near the abdomen. Variation like this truly highlights the similarities between the two Hoverflies, and while the Common Drone has a different abdomen pattern, the golden color is closer to that than the yellow of the Transverse Hoverfly. Like its aforementioned Eristalis relatives and most other Hoverflies, this insect relies on Bee mimicry in order to safely dart across and hover around flowers as it searches for nectar. 

I’ve speculated before on what Bees it might mimic so I won’t cover that in this post (perhaps the Honeybee in Picture 9 is a mimic). What I will cover is the length of time that these insects remain active throughout the year based on the individuals I’ve found. May to August is a long time for activity, and apparently the duration can be even longer depending on the temperature and conditions of the region, even proceeding into the autumn months. Apparently they are among some of the first Flies to emerge in spring (presumably after overwintering as adults), and hopefully that time coincides directly with some flowers opening up. Alternatively, maybe the adults emerge to mate after winter and then find suitable egg locations for a summer generation? Pools of microorganism-filled water and moist decaying environments are plentiful after the snow melts. The summer generation has it made however: flowers aplenty, verdant foliage and a warming sun. Hmmm, perhaps the melanistic colors aid in the early emergence? If it can take in more warmth, the cold won’t slow it down. 

Book of the Month: May 2020

TBR TAKEDOWN: Chose a book on your TBR list (individual)

Unofficially: May 2020