Trowbarrow Local Nature Reserve is managed by Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. This former quarry supports a mosaic of grassland habitats with limestone plants, bare ground, shallow ponds and a broad-leaved hazel coppice woodland to the west of the main quarry area.
In the afternoon we explored the north eastern edge of Hawes water (part of Gaitbarrows NNR) which includes a some marl fen and a species rich grassland beyond.
Trowbarrow
Hawes Water
Callicera aurata (Syrphidae), L. Dixon
- Possibly 2nd VC60 record (other record from 2016 near Trowbarrow), with 140 other published UK records. The distribution is widespread, mainly in the South of England, with few records in the Midlands and some in Wales. (nbnatlas.org.uk). Regarded as Nationally Scarce (Ball & Morris, 2014).
- This hoverfly species is mainly found in wooded areas with bramble or rose from June to September. Sometimes the adults will visit ivy. The larvae develop in damp cavities of trees, particularly stumps or mature trees (flickr.com, Steven Falk).
- Among the Callicera genus, C. aurata is fairly distinct with its long antennae with white tips. However, C. spinolae also has this characteristic and is differentiated by having black bands across tergites 2 and 3 (flickr.com, Steven Falk).
