Hover Flies

Hover flies a a dual purpose insect in agriculture. The adults are pollinators, while the larva of some
species eat aphids. Hover flies are a super diverse group, mimicking many different bees and wasps. Lets
check out some of the diversity our project has found!

Narcissus Bulb Fly (Merodon equestris)

© Burl Jantzen, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC)

European Drone Fly (Eristalis arbustorum)

© theobroma85, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC)

Black-margined Flower Fly (Syrphus opinator)

© Bob McDougall, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC)

White-bowed Smoothwing (Scaeva affinis)

(c) Bonnie Zand, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

Western Calligrapher (Toxomerus occidentalis)

© susieshow, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC)

Western Hornet Fly (Spilomyia citima)

© Bob McDougall, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC)

The larva look completely different - more like slugs than like flies, and are often found in the midst of
aphid colonies. Don't mistake them for caterpillars! As you can see, hover fly larva have no legs, while
caterpillars have multiple pairs of legs.

There is a hover fly egg at the bottom of this leaf and a larva at the top.

© Bonnie Zand, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC)

Two hover fly larva, chowing down on cabbage aphids

© michalinahunter, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC)

There are many different colour patterns, just like the adults!

© prairiegirlgonecoastal, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC)

If you would like to learn more about hover flies, check out the beneficial focus section in this edition of
the VIPPB newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/vifarmmonitoring/september4

Posted on September 4, 2022 08:58 PM by bzand bzand

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