Drone fly - Eristalix pertenax

Nice day today but I was too late for the sunny spells and consequently the butterflies eluded me yet again. Plenty of bee action going on but I decided to go with this hoverfly, as the best of today's shots.

The drone fly is one of the larger hoverflies and looks very much like a honey bee but it is in fact a true fly. Flies have one pair of wings, the second pair have evolved into to small 'drum stick' like appendages. These act as counter balance and move in the opposite direction to the wings. This allows the insect to fly more smoothly and achieve the characteristic hover.

At first light this morning, I collected up all of Cedrik's twigs and once again positioned them in a convenient location. All day he tried his little heart out, but once again, all the twigs are on the floor under the attempted nest site. I very much doubt that he will be contributing to the dove gene pool this year!

Dave