The humble Hoverfly
17 comments
Today has been a very, very hot and humid day, felt like being in a sauna most of the time ! It has now eased a little as there has just been a 5 minute rain shower, barely enough to even form a puddle though. I sat in the shade late afternoon, cutting up spent Poppies and fallen Cordyline leaves, so I wasn’t idle and realised there were lots of Hoverflies, plus a few Bees, all around me. It was almost as though they, like me, had decided to come out later in the day, when the heat wasn’t so oppresive.
I really don’t know much about the Hover fly so I’ve read up on them to discover that they are true flies (Diptera) with only one pair of wings, unlike wasps and bees who have 2 pairs.
They can have spots, bands or stripes of yellow and there are about 270 species in Britain. They are a friend to gardeners as they devour many aphids each day. I have to say that when I watched them, they kept well away from the blackfly on the Cosmos stems, I shall have to speak nicely to them !
Male Hoverflies have eyes joined in the middle, like big, black goggles and females have separate eyes and look more like sunglasses.
Here endeth your lesson on Hoverflies for today, questions will be asked later though, to see if you paid attention !
They seem to have no preference for any flower in particular as you can see from the photos of Hydrangea, Sweet Pea and Poppy
Hollyhock, Marigold coming into bloom and Penstemon all seemed popular
Must you take a photo of my derriere ? !
I think they are a lovely little insect, and they’ll always be welcome into my garden.
26 Jul, 2010
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Comments
I have lots of them in my garden but also didn`t really know much about them so I thank you Shirley for a very good blog, smashing photo`s as well......
26 Jul, 2010
Thanks, Sue, we just accept them in the garden without knowing much about them really. I try to learn something new each and every day ... lol !
26 Jul, 2010
I just try all sorts of shots, Great, practice makes perfect, well, not quite, but good enough for me !
26 Jul, 2010
Great informative blog Shirley, love the derriere pic. Wish they would take a liking to blackfly though.
27 Jul, 2010
i have loads to.... never seen so many as we have this year... nice pics... : O )
27 Jul, 2010
Lovely photos and blog.
27 Jul, 2010
Thanks for your comments, Ladies, not quite so many around today, perhaps because it isn't as humid now.
27 Jul, 2010
great blog and pics shirley, love watching them all at their buissness ;o))
27 Jul, 2010
Thanks, Sandra, sometimes it's nice to just sit for half an hour and watch the wildlife. I have to force myself not to go and deadhead or weed though !
27 Jul, 2010
me to shirley haah
28 Jul, 2010
They are very welcome in my garden now I have learnt more about their habits and especially now I know they are harmless and I really admire their beautiful markings ;0)
2 Aug, 2010
Masses of them again today, especially on a Spiraea shrub. : o )))
2 Aug, 2010
Took some pics today and they look pitiful beside yours. Good blog!
2 Aug, 2010
Oh dear, Lyn, when I look back at my first photos on GoY I laugh now, they were pretty poor ! An awful lot don't make it on here, it takes me a while to get a decent shot, I'm no professional by any means. Glad you liked the blog. : o ))))
3 Aug, 2010
Lovely pics Shirley and thanks for the info :-))
6 Aug, 2010
Thanks and you're welcome for the information. : o )))
6 Aug, 2010
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Wow, wow, wow and yes wow again. What fantastic photos so clear and colourful!!!! Clever you to get those shots. How did you do it???????? I thought I knew a little about hoover flies thank you for filling in the gaps Do we get marks out of 10 when we answer the questions correctly? lol
26 Jul, 2010