A CRITICALLY endangered adult pine hoverfly has been spotted in the wild in Britain for the first time in nearly a decade after conservation efforts, experts have said.
The discovery comes after staggered releases of larvae in October 2021 and March 2022 at RSPB Abernethy and Forestry and Land Scotland Glenmore, sites carefully managed for conservation.
Larvae were bred as part of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s (RZSS) conservation breeding programme, which is based at Highland Wildlife Park.
Experts said the sighting of the adult is an early sign of success for the Rare Invertebrates in the Cairngorms project.
Dr Helen Taylor, conservation programme manager at RZSS, said: “This discovery is a huge step for pine hoverfly conservation and recovery, showing the larvae which were released are surviving through to adulthood.
“As one of our most endangered native species, pine hoverflies are important to forest ecosystems, acting as both pollinators and waste recyclers.
“These releases also allow us to develop our knowledge of their behaviour in the wild.”
The project is a partnership between RSPB, Cairngorms National Park Authority, RZSS, Buglife Scotland, Butterfly Conservation Scotland and NatureScot.
