When I wandered into the garden between the rain showers there weren’t many insects around apart from moth flies, and I thought I was going to need to dislodge someone from their roost to get a more interesting subject. But then I spotted this fresh male Drone Fly (Eristalis tenax) on the honeysuckle beside the garage, and having approached him very slowly and cautiously, I soon realised that he was concentrating far too hard on his grooming routine to be interested in me. In fact, despite the fact that I was using flash, I’m far from certain that he noticed I was there, even when I moved around so I could photograph him face-on.
Hoverflies clean their tongues quite regularly, using their forelegs to scrape off any stray pollen grains that are stuck there, but I’ve never seen one extend its proboscis as far as this, so I found this scene especially interesting. Once he was satisfied with his oral hygiene, the Drone Fly set to work on his wings, cleaning them with his rear legs, which he sometimes moved synchronously – as you can see in my second photo – and sometimes alternately. Having done that he washed his front feet and polished his forelegs against each other, and then he settled down on the leaf and rested, apparently watching me while I worked around him. It’s quite unusual for a hoverfly to be so accommodating, even a big and bold species such as Eristalis tenax, and I wondered if it was the extensive grooming routine I’d witnessed that had brought on this mood of Zen-like calm.
