View allAll Photos Tagged hoverflies
Hoverflies, sometimes called flower flies or syrphid flies, make up the insect family Syrphidae. As their common name suggests, they are often seen hovering or nectaring at flowers; the adults of many species feed mainly on nectar and pollen, while the larvae (maggots) eat a wide range of foods. In some species, the larvae are saprotrophs, eating decaying plant and animal matter in the soil or in ponds and streams. In other species, the larvae are insectivores and prey on aphids, thrips, and other plant-sucking insects.
*Thanks to Orlee C. Ninon for sharing this fly with me.
his photostream: www.flickr.com/photos/ocninon/
best viewed LARGE:
A patient, or tired little hoverfly I found among the blue flowers today.
365/246 - Year 10 Photo 3533
Hoverfly Volucella zonaria on ox-eye daisy. Natural light. No idea what that finger is doing there :)
Hoverfly taking a rest on a Nasturtium petal in my garden. It spent some time getting pollen out of its eyes.
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Hoverflies are a colourful group of flies (Diptera) which make up the family Syrphidae. Hoverflies are given their name for their characteristic hovering behaviour, and are also referred to as flower flies as they are frequent flower visitors. Adult hoverflies feed mainly on pollen and nectar, making these insects very important pollinators.
There are 270 known species of hoverfly in Britain; these species vary greatly in size, shape and colour. Hoverflies are one of the most common insects to visit our gardens, so are very important pollinators in urban areas
marmalade hoverfly
(Episyrphus balteatus)
I found this male E. balteatus in a rotting tree in the Leechwald in Graz. I was quite surprised to find a male, because I thought only females hibernate.
It is actually quite easy to sex them, because the compound eyes of males meet on the forehead. This is called "holoptic eyes" and is quite common around Diptera (true flies).
The conditions were quite hard, with a temperature of -5°C and about 30cm of snow, but I just had to get out to clear my mind after long sessions of studying for the finals.
I pushed the ISO to 400 and used a slow shutter-speed of 1/80sec to get a properly exposed sky in the background.
Shot with Canon 600D and the MP-E 65mm f2.8 macro lens and a 430 EX II flash with a homemade diffusor.
single handheld exposure.
These asters are proving the best place to photograph bees the last couple of days - or is this one a wasp? I'm not sure but anyway I like the angle of this with the beautiful blue sky. Update - I now know that this is a species of hoverfly!
At first, I mistaken this fellow as a bee. Then realised that there is no sting at it's end and the funny black hump on the back. Only get to find out that it is Hoverfly after searching it's identity from Internet.
Took this handheld with my 5D mounted with 100mm macro and 580EXii mounted with my homemade diffuser. Shot in RAW and did minor adjustment on sharpness and brightness to get the above.
**Best view at large
On a window. The Sony RX10 Mk 4 focuses so close that if you stop down to f/16 with a UV filter on to protect the lens, any dust on the filter will be sharp! This was at f/2.4 hand held autofocus.
Dronefly hoverfly feeding on a crocus. Focus stacked using zerene.
Unfortunately the first crocuses in flower in my garden are in the shade and not attracting any bugs so I cheated by picking a flower and placing it on a sunny camellia bush. It quickly attracted a drone fly
As the days get shorter, and the hot weather starts to go away, it seems that the bees, bugs and butterflies become busier...and more numerous. It's a great time to have a macro lens...particularly knowing that in a very short time they'll all be gone for close to half a year.
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Nikon D7100. Tamron 180mm Macro. 1/2000th @ f/10. ISO 1250. EV = - 2/3. Handheld.