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Posts Tagged: syrphid flies

Today's Honorary Bee Image Award Goes to...a Fly

Today's Honorary Bee Image Award goes to...drum roll...an image of a humble hoverfly appearing on the National Geographic Facebook page. The...

A National Geographic Facebook image shows a hover fly masquerading as a bee.
A National Geographic Facebook image shows a hover fly masquerading as a bee.

A National Geographic Facebook image shows a hover fly masquerading as a bee.

A drone fly, Eristalis tenax, sipping nectar from a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. It is often mistaken for a bee. Eristalis is a large genus of hoverflies, family Syrphidae, in the order Diptera. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A drone fly, Eristalis tenax, sipping nectar from a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. It is often mistaken for a bee. Eristalis is a large genus of hoverflies, family Syrphidae, in the order Diptera. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A drone fly, Eristalis tenax, sipping nectar from a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. It is often mistaken for a bee. Eristalis is a large genus of hoverflies, family Syrphidae, in the order Diptera. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A honey bee, Apis mellifera, sipping nectar from a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A honey bee, Apis mellifera, sipping nectar from a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A honey bee, Apis mellifera, sipping nectar from a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Friday, March 22, 2024 at 12:17 PM
Focus Area Tags: Environment, Innovation, Yard & Garden

Syrphid Flies Are Pollinators, Too

Sometimes overlooked as pollinators are the syrphid flies, also known as "hover flies" or "flower flies." Unfortunately, they are often mistaken for...

A dorsal view of a syprhid fly sunning itself on a leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A dorsal view of a syprhid fly sunning itself on a leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A dorsal view of a syprhid fly sunning itself on a leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The syprhid fly senses danger and slips under a leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The syprhid fly senses danger and slips under a leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The syprhid fly senses danger and slips under a leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Thursday, November 16, 2023 at 7:32 PM
Tags: honey bees (451), natural enemies (2), pollinators (53), syrphid flies (9), UC IPM (67)
Focus Area Tags: Environment, Innovation, Natural Resources, Yard & Garden

Andrew Young: Natural History of Syrphids, from Pollinators to Parasitoids

At first glance, they're often mistaken for bees, but bees they are not. They're flies. You've probably seen them hovering over flowers, which is...

A syrphid, also known as a hover fly or flower fly, nectars on a tower of jewels, Echium wildpretii, in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A syrphid, also known as a hover fly or flower fly, nectars on a tower of jewels, Echium wildpretii, in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A syrphid, also known as a hover fly or flower fly, nectars on a tower of jewels, Echium wildpretii, in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A syrphid in flight, heading toward a tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A syrphid in flight, heading toward a tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A syrphid in flight, heading toward a tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A syrphid tucked inside the petals of a rock purslane, Calandrinia grandiflora. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A syrphid tucked inside the petals of a rock purslane, Calandrinia grandiflora. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A syrphid tucked inside the petals of a rock purslane, Calandrinia grandiflora. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A syrphid hovers over Jupiter's Beard, Centranthus ruber. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A syrphid hovers over Jupiter's Beard, Centranthus ruber. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A syrphid hovers over Jupiter's Beard, Centranthus ruber. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Monday, February 3, 2020 at 5:00 PM
Focus Area Tags: Agriculture, Economic Development, Environment, Innovation, Natural Resources, Pest Management, Yard & Garden

A Bee Is a Bee Is a Bee...

Remember that line in Gertrude Stein's 1913 poem, Sacred Emily: "A rose is a rose is a rose"? Well, to paraphrase Stein: "A bee is a bee is a...

One's a fly and one's a bee. Can you tell them apart? Honey bee on the left: syrphid fly on the right. They're nectaring on Mexican sunflower, Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
One's a fly and one's a bee. Can you tell them apart? Honey bee on the left: syrphid fly on the right. They're nectaring on Mexican sunflower, Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

One's a fly and one's a bee. Can you tell them apart? Honey bee on the left: syrphid fly on the right. They're nectaring on Mexican sunflower, Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Not a bee. This is a bee fly, genus Villa. It's nectaring on Mexican sunflower, genus Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Not a bee. This is a bee fly, genus Villa. It's nectaring on Mexican sunflower, genus Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Not a bee. This is a bee fly, genus Villa. It's nectaring on Mexican sunflower, genus Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Thursday, November 9, 2017 at 5:00 PM

This Is Definitely a Magnet for Bees and Flower Flies

The bush germander (Teucrium fruticans) is definitely a great fall-winter plant that's a magnet for bees. Just look at the bees that frequent...

Honey bee foraging in bush germander. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Honey bee foraging in bush germander. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey bee foraging in bush germander. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Syrphid fly, aka flower fly or hover fly, visiting germander. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Syrphid fly, aka flower fly or hover fly, visiting germander. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Syrphid fly, aka flower fly or hover fly, visiting germander. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Monday, January 21, 2013 at 9:11 PM
Tags: bumble bee (40), germander (3), honey bees (451), Robbin Thorp (289), syrphid flies (9)

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