I have now identified the hoverfly larva on 29th June as Melangyna cincta.
Cloudy and warm.
A dorsal shot of Amblyteles armatorius, showing the diagnostic pale-yellow triangle at the base of the thorax.
Eristalis intricarius is a Bumblebee-mimicking hoverfly. I only find it in one location and I always find it there in decent numbers at the right time of year. The larvae feed on wet, decaying vegetation so the mimicry in this case is limited to self-protection based on the similarity of appearance to the mimicked Bumblebee. Compare this with Volucella bombylans - another Bumblebee mimic. In that case the larvae are predators/scavengers of the Bumblebee larvae in their nests, so the adults rely on the mimicry to enter and leave the host nest undetected.
This specimen is strange: short-haired, and with the normal Eristalis-type markings showing through. Still, it's described as 'very variable', so I can live with it.
And here's what they're mimicking: Bombus terrestris.
And just for further comparison, Volucella bombylans:
Following on from Bumblebee mimics, this is a Bumblebee predator: Sicus ferrugineus. Note that the abdomen doubles back underneath the fly and is used to 'staple' an egg upwards into the soft abdomen of the bumblebee. Recent studies have suggested that the parasitised bumblebees adopt a different diet which is perhaps more suited to the fly.
I didn't find any Volucella pelluscens last year, so it's new to the species index but not the website. One of the larger and more impressive hoverflies.
Two more Tenthredo Sawflies. Separation of these usually requires dissection, so they will remain simply 'Tenthredo sp.'.
I'd always wondered how the males approached the females. In this image the male is very slowly descending on the female. One of the smaller Eristalis species: Eristalis interruptus, and new to the site.