The hoverfly: even if the name doesn’t ring a bell, you’ve probably seen them before and wondered what kind of insect this was. In spring and summer, one often sees them flying around, hovering at a standstill around melliferous flowers and trees.
These beneficial insects are incredible pollinators and their larvae are a very effective help when dealing with aphids.
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Technically, we should be talking about hoverflies – there are more than one species of hover fly. Indeed, the Syrphidae family numbers in the thousands, each continent home to over 500 species. Depending on the species, the size they reach as adults ranges from 1/10th to 1 inch (3 to 25 mm).
One of the most intriguing particularities of the hoverfly gave it its name: it masters stationary flight thanks to the blindingly fast beating of its wings (120 beats per second!). This characteristic, when seconded with the observation of the insect’s black and yellow exoskeleton, makes identifying the insect very easy.
As the title of the post shows, there are several benefits of having hover flies visit your garden often:
Hoverflies come for pollen and stay where there is shelter. Here is what each part of the garden can offer them.
| Where | What to grow or leave alone | Why hoverflies come |
|---|---|---|
| Flower bed or shrub border | Melliferous flowers and shrubs | A steady pollen supply, which decides female fertility |
| Sown wildflower strip | Composite and umbel flowers together, such as yarrow, aster and masterwort | Flat, open blooms that complement each other through the season |
| Vegetable patch | A few plants left to flower and seed | Umbel flowers right beside the crops that need protecting |
| Woody areas and hedges | Trees and undergrowth left standing | Food in season plus winter shelter |
Combine the four and the garden feeds hoverflies from spring through to their winter rest.
Hoverflies gather large amounts of pollen. Its availability is actually crucial for female fertility. So if your goal is to is to increase biodiversity in your garden and attract this beneficial insect inside it, all you need to do is:
sow a wildflower strip in which composite and umbel flowers complement each other: include yarrow, aster, masterwort, etc.;
Note that hoverflies also love woody forests, which not only provides them with food, but with lots of places to hibernate during winter. Thanks to these many functions, the hoverfly earns the title of “excellent beneficial insect”!
Include it in your plants to attain organic control of pests and diseases.
