State of the Syrphs - 1-Sept-2024
Hello! Time for our monthly data frenzy, and it's been another fun one.
September is really the last month of hoverfly season: here's what to look out for. Keep your eyes on the ivy. If you are anywhere near East Anglia it would be awesome to get some more Callicera spinolae observations on iNatUK!
- Observations
We have now exceeded 100,000 hoverfly observations on iNatUK! Whoop!
And for the first time the number of hoverflies uploaded in August is greater than in July... so another record - over 6000 for the first time.
However this is partly due to a significant number of old observations being uploaded. The number of hoverflies actually observed in August also went up compared to July for the first time, but the number is still slightly lower than July last year.
In 2024 we have already easily exceeded the total number of observations uploaded in any previous year
We recorded a provisional 103 species: highlights including Eristalis abusiva, Pipiza luteitarsis, Brachypalpoides lentus, Epistrophe diaphana, Sphaerophoria rueppellii and a smattering of Eriozona syrphoides
- Identifications
We have also delivered another record month for identifications:
Despite that, the NeedsID pile has grown by nearly 1000. Some of you may remember a few months ago I created a method to predict the size of the needs ID pile in the past from the number of IDs and observations. That was verified by correctly matching the data from this project as it came in. Well this month, for the first time, that method failed completely! By that prediction, the number of IDs we added should have been enough to reduce the NeedsID pile slightly. I don't have an explanation for why our IDs have not translated into Research Grade observations at the normal rate: answers on a postcard!
Below is the usual breakdown of the NeedsID pile according to tribe, and the deep dive into the tribe Syrphini. Something that I think is worth noting is that the reduction in the NeedsID pile compared to this time last year is due almost entirely to the huge reduction in Syrphini that we acheived over the winter, and that we have kept on top of. The other tribes have grown back to the same size as last year.
36 genera increased their number needing ID, with 28 unchanged and 7 down. The genera with the biggest % increases (which had >50 obs to start with) are: Sphaerophoria (+59%), Xanthogramma (+38%), Syrphus (+25%), Neoascia (+24%), Rhingia (+17%), Eristalis (+15%), Melangyna (+13%), Meliscaeva (+13%), and Cheilosia (+11%). The increases in Eristalis and Cheilosia from a high base are particularly noteworthy - Cheilosia has leapfrogged Melanostoma to become the third neediest genus. The neediest genera are Eristalis (1940), Platycheirus (1628), Cheilosia (994), Melanostoma (986), and Eupeodes (569).
- Annotations
We haven't kept up with annotations quite as well as some previous months, but we're still doing great really.
- Obscured Locations
The use of obscured locations dropped to the lowest proportion we've seen for a major month - just 2.3%. That means more usable data for the recording scheme :)
- AOB
Usually the NeedsID pile increases for the last time in September, but I do wonder if this year it might go down - that would be cool. If we want to achieve anything like we did last winter we'll have to deal with the neediest genera listed above. I'll be having a think about what events we can do and what resources might help us tackle them. Happy to hear ideas.
If you are new to IDing, or want to get started, a great way to do that is to sort observations at a high level into the right genus - you can use the URL here, and of course feel free to tag in any of the major identifiers of UK hoverflies if you want to discuss an ID. That's particularly helpful at the start of autumn because it will help us tackle particular genera later in the winter.
Happy Autumn syrphing!
(All data collected on 31st Aug 2024)
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