View allAll Photos Tagged hoverfly
An obliging hoverfly, hovering in front of me in my overgrown lawn (now meadow!).
Handheld, natural light. I think it's a bit hazy at the rear of the abdomen because some grass got in the way.
In mom's garden.... So many species of hoverflies (also known as flower flies), I can't tell them apart.
Geranium robertianum, commonly known as Herb-Robert, is common and widespread throughout Britain and Ireland, often growing in the shade of woodland edges, next to walls and in other darker spots. When it grows in rocky, sunny sites the sunshine turns its stems a crimson red. Not to be confused with other geranium species that have similar, fern-like leaves include hedgerow cranesbill (Geranium pyrenaicum) and dove’s foot cranesbill (Geranium molle).
Herb-robert is a foodplant and nectar-source for many invertebrates including bees, hoverflies and the barred carpet moth. It was also traditionally carried to bring good luck and for fertility.
It'sthought to have gained its name from an ancient association with Robin Goodfellow, a house goblin from English folklore also known as Puck. And some think it was named after an 11th-century monk who cured many people using the plant.
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Geraniales
Family: Geraniaceae
Genus: Geranium
Species: Geranium robertianum
Common Name: Herb Robert
Hoverfly sitting on the petal of Gerbera. They are speedy little things and appear to be able to be both coming and going at the same time!
+1 in comments with a bit more indication of scale
ODC Theme "coming and going"
A common hoverfly, probably "Syrphus ribesii" feeding on the nectar of Echinops (globe thistle. Dronfield, Derbyshire
Hoverfly Meliscaeva sp. on camellia leaf. Focus stacked using zerene. See www.flickr.com/photos/lordv/23861725795/ for a 3D version
Hoverfly (Syrphidae) larva, possibly Meligramma triangulifera, on birch (Betula). Holme Fen National Nature Reserve, Holme, Cambridgeshire. Sunday 28th January 2018.
Side view of the same specimen as the previous image, showing its highly flattened body profile. The appendages at the left (rear) end are the breathing tubes, or posterior respiratory process (PRP). I don't know how other people feel about these larvae, but personally I find it difficult to warm towards any creature that breathes through its backside...