We all have our Holy Grails and I have a number amongst the insect world. As for Hoverflies, there are much rarer species than my 'most wanted' but I've had Volucella zonaria in my thoughts for a couple of years now! The dream was about to come true whilst in the arable field at Venus Pool...
I was enjoying a Hoverfly mini-fest with nothing out of the ordinary when something extraordinary flashed in front of my nose (literally) OMG, a hornet I thought and dashed to the part of the hedge it had flown into... Yep, it was a 'Hornet' of sorts, the 'Hornet Hoverfly' and my dream had come true as it busily fed on some bramble nectar...
It seemed like half an hour had passed but in reality it was just a minute! Looking at the pictures, I realised I had been watching it for most of the minute while it was too high in the hedge to photograph! I'll have to dream up another Holy Grail...
