Posts Tagged: flower flies

The Good Guys--and Girls!

Think of them as "the good guys" and "the good girls." Insects such as lacewings, lady beetles and flower flies. We're delighted to see that the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation has just published a 250-page book on "Farming with Native Beneficial Insects." The book advocates the use...

A syrphid fly, aka flower fly or hover fly, nectaring on a tower of jewels. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A syrphid fly, aka flower fly or hover fly, nectaring on a tower of jewels. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A lacewing glows in the afternoon sun. Larvae eat such soft-bodied insects as mealybugs, psyllids, thrips, mites, whiteflies, aphids, small caterpillars, leafhoppers, and insect eggs, according to the UC IPM website. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A lacewing glows in the afternoon sun. Larvae eat such soft-bodied insects as mealybugs, psyllids, thrips, mites, whiteflies, aphids, small caterpillars, leafhoppers, and insect eggs, according to the UC IPM website. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The lady beetle, aka ladybug, is well known for its voracious appetite of aphids. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The lady beetle, aka ladybug, is well known for its voracious appetite of aphids. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Just Hovering

Every insect looks prettier when it lands on a tower of jewels (Echiium wildpretti).When in full bloom, the 9-to-10-foot-high plant, native to the Canary Islands, blazes with firecracker-red flowers. It's a showstopper.Syrphid flies, aka flower flies or hover flies, battle with honey bees to sip...

Syrphid Fly

SYRPHID FLY, aka flower fly, sips nectar from a tower of jewels. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Close-Up

BEAUTY of a syrphid fly on a tower of jewels. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Caught on the Cosmos

Cosmos flowers are somewhat like Libras. They balance. In fact, the word,  "cosmos,"  means "harmony" or "ordered universe" in Greek. Plant cosmos and you'll soon be enjoying colorful flowers that belong to the Asteraceae family, which also includes...

Syrphid on Cosmos

SYRPHID, aka flower fly or hover fly, lands on a cosmos. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Close-Up

CLOSE-UP of syrphid nectaring on a cosmos. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Patience in the Garden

Patience. That's what it takes to capture images of syrphids, aka flower or hover flies. They are oh, so tiny and they move oh, so quickly. As the morning dawns,  you wait, camera poised, near their preferred blossoms.  You'll need a keen eye and a quick trigger finger--not to mention a...

Hovering

SYRPHID or flower fly aims for a cactus blossom. A high shutter speed slows the wing action. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Mouthparts

MOUTHPARTS of a syrphid or flower fly, frozen in time and space. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Just Hovering

It's often mistaken for a honey bee. It's not a honey bee. It's a hover fly or flower fly. And this one, hovering around the plants last Saturday in the Storer Gardens at the University of California, Davis, looked like a Syrphus opinator to me. So I asked UC Davis entomologist Robert...

Hover Fly

A hover fly or flower fly, Syrphus opinator, rests on a stem in the Storer Gardens, UC Davis. You'll be seeing more of these hover flies as the weather warms. This photo was taken Saturday, Jan. 24. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Head of Hover Fly

HEAD OF HOVER FLY--This close-up photo shows the head of the hover fly, Syrphus opinator. The insect is often mistaken for a honey bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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