Species of the Month: May 2018

Ramsons Hoverfly Portevinia maculata

 

Ramsons hoverfly can, unsurprisingly be found on and around Ramsons (aka Wild Garlic Allium ursinum). Described as "very sluggish", the species is generally seen resting on the leaves or nearby foliage. It is black with squarish grey marking on the thorax and orange antennae.

The species should be found throughout south Wales wherever Ramsons grows, but is under recorded with just 98 records in the SEWBReC database. You can view the Welsh distribution of Ramsons Hoverfly on Aderyn.

More photos and information about Ramsons Hoverfly can be found on NatureSpot and Steven Falk's Flickr page.

If you spot Ramsons Hoverfly during May (or at any other time of year), please send us the record, ideally via  SEWBReCORD or the LERC Wales App. Instructions on how to submit records are available here.