With things beginning to warm up, the invertebrates have really started to appear in numbers.

Bees are getting very busy with all the new, emerging flowers and on your windowsill.

Also, you might well see flies sitting and sunning themselves.

Despite being thought of as pests, flies play a significant part in keeping the ecological balance of our environment. They are nature’s clean-up crew, clearing away things like carcasses and faecal matter.

Flies and their larva help break down decomposing organic matter into basic blocks which can be used by plants.

Let’s take a closer look at these much-maligned insects.

If you like jewelled colours, keep an eye out for spring greenbottles, especially Gymnocheta viridis. It is very distinctive being a shiny green with bronze highlights, and has fantastic bristly hairs on its abdomen and hairy eyes as well.

Look for its short and stubby antennae too as it basks on sunlit tree trunks.

At this time of year, you will probably also be seeing hoverflies, the Tapered Drone Fly and the Spring Epistrophe.

The drone fly looks very like a honeybee, but look closely particularly at the head, they have huge eyes and very short stumpy antennae.

Its larva rejoices in the name of the rat-tailed maggot and lives in stagnant water such as water butts.

The Epistrophe will be out soon, usually when the hawthorn blossoms.

They are small, flying jewels with bright yellow and black striped bodies and will be seen basking on sunlit foliage.

If you are interested in finding out more about wildlife on the island, check out the Manx Wildlife Trust at www.mwt.im