Syrphid Fly

These little guys and their larva are the gardener’s friends. This is a syrphid fly. During the larval stage, these insects have voracious appetites and their idea of dinner is aphids---HUNDREDS in a month. The little greenish larva have a tapered head and suck aphids dry. Their other treats include caterpillars, mealy bugs, thrips and scale. During the adult phase, they feed on pollen and nectar.

It is also known as a hover fly (because it can hang in the air like a tiny helicopter) or flower fly. Distinguishing flies from bees and wasps is simplest through the wings. Flies have two wings, bees and wasps have four wings; flies also have compound eyes and short antennae, where bees and wasps have simple eyes and long antennae. The syrphids use their bee-like mimic coloring to fool predators into thinking that they are stinging insects. They are not. There are over 1000 species of syrphids in North America.

Here in Edgewood Garden, these beneficial insects are rampant on the currently flowering Anemone hupehensis pictured in this photo.