A SURVEY OF THE SYRPHIDAE (HOVER-FLIES) OF REDGRAVE AND SOUTH LOPHAM FENS (Carried out during 1966 under the auspices of the Redgrave Fen Advisory Committee) W . S. GEORGE
As the fens are nearly forty miles from my home, it was not possible to make as many visits to the area as I would have liked. I had been there only twice previously, and on each occasion the weather had been unkind for hover-flies. But I was able to obtain details of a visit in 1962 by the Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists' Society, noting the hover-flies then listed by Mr. K. C. Durrant of East Dereham. It happens that no hover-flies were seen on these three occasions that I was not able to confirm during 1966; however, I list them below. IITH JUNE, 1962. (With my wife) I took Rhingia campestris $ on "Source Ridge". Little Fen, then at the north-east corner of Middle Fen took Melanostoma mellinum $ and Platychirus peltatus $ (melanic). 16TH SEPTEMBER, 1962. Mr. K. C. Durrant recorded Syrphus balteatus, S. ribesii and Ferdinandea (Chrysochlamys) cuprea. 29TH MAY, 1965. (With a Suffolk Naturalists' Society party) I was able to find only Melanostoma scalare And so to 1966. 13TH MAY. (Alone) arrived at Waveney Source 6 p.m., but despite reasonable sunshine and a walk along the entire Redgrave Fen bank of the river, I could not find any hover-flies at all. Evidently evening visits at this early season would be a failure, s<I re-visited the fens on 15TH MAY. With my brother-in-law John Westrup I walked, about midday, from Waveney Source along Redgrave bank to the sluice near grid-post R46, then back through woodland in Redgrave Far East, returning to river-bank near R64. We deviated towards L02 before returning to Waveney Source, then drove to the north-east corner of Middle Fen, where we found hover-flies rather more plentiful. The most interesting find was one male and one female of Sphaerophoria rueppellii (male being var. nitidicollis) on the river-bank of Redgrave West. This species was new to me.