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Number of new species never before seen in the State, or were thought to be no longer in NYS: 5.
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Hover flies plus#
State Parks with the highest diversity of hover flies (at least 7 different species plus more than 15 individual flies): Minnewaska, Thacher, Sunken Meadow, Letchworth, Taconic, and Allegany.Total number of different Syrphid (fly) pollinators: 50 species.Total number of Parks sampled: 22 (in all Regions).This will allow anybody with an interest to pursue these fascinating and colorful insects who will challenge your notions of what a fly is!Ī few fun facts we learned about hover flies in State Parks: Photo courtesy of NYNHP.Ī brand new hover fly field guide focusing specifically on northeastern North America will be published later in 2018 by a team of Canadian researchers. Look closely for the hover fly on a leaf at Goosepond Mountain State Park on September 28, 2017. In other words, Hover flies are very important to the health of our native ecosystems. Many play an important role in aiding decomposition in aquatic and forest environments in effect breaking down leaves, logs and other debris which then releases nutrients and builds soil. At the same time, their larvae (the young stage) are predators of harmful insects such as aphids and adelgids. In doing so, they help to pollinate a wide range of trees, shrubs and wildflowers in every conceivable habitat. This is because the adult flies feed on pollen and nectar to power their energy- intensive flight. Many hover flies are mimics of stinging Hymenoptera (see photo) and known to be second only to bees in their pollinating prowess. Some go by interesting names like Bristlesides, Sedgesitters and Leafwalkers. There are many different species or types of these flies and not anything like the plain black housefly. Preliminary results are in for the hover flies or flower flies that SUNY Cobleskill experts helped to identify. The specimens become a permanent record that can be used for future research. Experts will identify these individuals to species. The collections are the only way to document and identify most of the species.Ī box of pinned and labeled hover flies. The biologists also used insect nets to hand- capture pollinators (see photo), spending the better part of one day obtaining a snapshot of the Park’s pollinator community. Photo courtesy of NYNHP.īetween June 8 – Octoon fair weather days, two biologists used sets of small painted bowls containing soapy water to trap pollinators (the insects mistake the color for a flower) in four different habitat types within each Park (see photo). Captured by a spider, a fate that befalls some flower-visiting flies. NYNHP Zoologists honed in on the most important and vulnerable pollinating groups in the state, representing a wide variety of native insect pollinators such as bumble bees, mining bees, bee flies, longhorn beetles and flower moths. The goal of the ESNPS is to determine the rarity of a wide array of native insect pollinators in non-agricultural habitats. Photo by Lindsay Dombroskie, accessed from iNaturalist. The eastern calligrapher (Toxomerus geminatus) is a very common species in State Parks all over the state. In 2017 a cadre of NY Natural Heritage Program (NYNHP) biologists working under a long-standing agreement with State Parks began testing out sampling methods for a multi-year statewide Native Pollinator Survey (ESNPS) under the auspices of the Governor’s NYS Pollinator Protection Plan jointly administered by Department of Environmental Conservation and Department of Agriculture and Markets. This is actually a fly! The bare-cheeked bumblefly is a very rare Syrphid in NY that mimics bumblebees and lives in old forests. Here’s a first look at some of the early results. It’s National Pollinator Week! Scientists have been busy looking to see what pollinators live in State Parks.