View allAll Photos Tagged hoverfly
Again i think these are some kind of hoverfly. First time i have seen them breeding. Hope this isn't too rude lol.
This amazing wasp-mimicking hoverfly was feeding on one of our Bacopa plants. It is obviously keen on it, as it spent ages flying around and then feeding on the many individual flowers.
The plant is a ground cover which I have in a broad shallow pot, and it attracts native bees and small butterflies as well.
Hoverflies, also called flower flies, are a large and important group of pollinators and the most numerous of the pollinating flies. There are more than 6,000 species, including many that mimic bees for protection. 7 artisans 60mm f2.8 macro @ 2.8
This hoverfly, Rhingia campestris has a remarkable snout, which protects its rod like proboscis (specialised mouthparts). This fly’s proboscis is exceptionally long for a hoverfly and enables it to reach into deeper flowers than other nectar feeding flies. (In this photograph, it will reach the bottom of this flower.) When not in use, the proboscis is folded up and is stored in a groove on the underside of the snout.
Here the fly is nectaring on a wallflower. The fly feeds on nectar and pollen, but there are considerable differences in the relative amounts of pollen and nectar eaten by individual flies. Pollen, a rich protein source, is required most by females, particularly during those stages of egg development when the yolk is formed. Nectar, which is mainly carbohydrate, is required in large amounts by males, and is required by females before and after egg production. The larval stage lives and feeds on dung!
I have just returned from spending a wonderful week with my son and his partner, at their new home in Derbyshire. I will catch up with you all over the coming days. Thanks for visiting, and have a great Sunday :)
Close up on the head showing the compound eyes and unique mouth piece. 3.5x magnification
8mm in size
A Hoverfly (Eristalis Arbustorum) spotted on a neighbours allotment. I learnt to always bring my camera to the allotment - just in case I see something.
Not sure what it is on, maybe a catsear?
Anyway, to see nature this close and detail is mindblowing.
Portrait female marmalade hoverfly, made with magnification 5 and f/14 using a Canon 7D and a Canon MP-E 65mm/2.8. It is a single picture. The large version can be seen at
Episyrphus balteatus, sometimes called the marmalade hoverfly, is a relatively small hoverfly (9–12 mm) of the Syrphidae family, widespread throughout all continents. Like most other hoverflies it mimics a much more dangerous insect, the solitary wasp, though it is a quite harmless species. The upper side of the abdomen is patterned with orange and black bands. Two further identification characters are the presence of secondary black bands on the 3rd and 4th dorsal plates and of faint greyish longitudinal stripes on the thorax.
E. balteatus can be found throughout the year in various habitats, including urban gardens, visiting flowers for pollen and nectar. They often form dense migratory swarms, which may cause panic among people for its resemblance to wasps. It is among the very few species of flies capable of crushing pollen grains and feeding on them. The larva is terrestrial and feeds on aphids. As in most other hoverflies, males can be easily identified by their holoptic eyes, i.e., left and right compound eyes touching at the top of the head (source: Wikipedia).