Narcissus fly

[Lina Hesseling]

Thank you Mark.
I already toke away the dead leaves and closed the holes they left last week. 

Lina.

[Martin Baxendale]

The little buggers were all over my pots of snowdrop seedlings and chipped bulbs. I'm removing the withered/withering leaves and shaking off the top dressing before taking the pots under cover.

[annew]

I am feeling proud. I caught and disposed of 8 of the little ******s! At last I seem to have got the knack - many thanks to Armin.

[ronm]

What you all need is a tame Ficedula narcissina, 

[annew]

I have a breeding pair on my Christmas list...

[Maggi Young]

I have a breeding pair on my Christmas list...

I wasn't aware of this very beautiful bird.... Ficedula narcissina but a quick look at the photos available og google show that  anyone might be grateful for such decorative feathered company in the garden - even those of us not waging war against narcissus fly!
Might make most of the "locals" feel a might underdressed, though!


http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Ficedula+narcissina&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=qtV&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=AiTKT_3jCYj98QPr7azRDw&ved=0CGUQsAQ&biw=1143&bih=702

[annew]

Not sure how it got its name though, there are no narcissus native to east Asia, as far as I know. 

[Maggi Young]

Not sure how it got its name though, there are no narcissus native to east Asia, as far as I know. 

Who cares, if it eats flies!

[mark smyth]

I'm no longer using a sway to get them. A quick spray of fly spray seems to work

[Gerry Webster]

Not sure how it got its name though, there are no narcissus native to east Asia, as far as I know. 

The yellow breast?

[Martin Baxendale]

Yes, Gerry, the Narcissus part of the bird's name apparently refers to the bright yellow colouring of the chest plummage, not to what the bird eats (narcissus flies would be a very restricted diet for a bird). So it's a narcissus-coloured fly catcher rather than a catcher of narcissus flies.

[annew]

Curious, considering all the other yellow things it could have been named after.

[Martin Baxendale]

Curious, considering all the other yellow things it could have been named after.

The Custard Flycatcher doesn't have quite the same ring to it. Lemon Flycatcher? Actually, am I being a bit slow today or are there not really all that many natural yellow things around 'cos I'm running out of ideas already. Golden Flycatcher, I suppose. I guess whoever named it wasn't aware of the existence of the Narcissus Fly, so didn't anticipate that the name could be misleading to daff and snowdrop growers.

[Anthony Darby]

I think it is quite logical for a Dutchman (Coenraad Jacob Temminck in 1836) to name it after possibly the most obvious yellow things in his native land.