Posts Tagged: syprhid flies

The Year 2017: 'Survival of the Flittest'

How would you describe the year 2017? Survival of the fittest? In the insect world, it's more like "survival of the flittest." If you've ever pulled up a chair in a pollinator garden and sat back and observed all the activity, sometimes it's like road...

Have you ever seen a male long-horned bee (Melissodes agilis) doing a protective fly-by, trying to save a food source for the female of his species? (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Have you ever seen a male long-horned bee (Melissodes agilis) doing a protective fly-by, trying to save a food source for the female of his species? (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Have you ever seen a male long-horned bee (Melissodes agilis) challenging a Western tiger swallowtail seeking nectar from a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia)?(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Have you ever seen a male long-horned bee (Melissodes agilis) challenging a Western tiger swallowtail seeking nectar from a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia)?(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Have you ever seen a Melissodes agilis targeting a Western tiger swallowtail? A tiger by the tail? (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Have you ever seen a Melissodes agilis targeting a Western tiger swallowtail? A tiger by the tail? (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Have you ever seen a syrphid fly targeting a honeydew-laden lady beetle, aka ladybug, on a rose? This is an Asian lady beetle (Harmonia axyridis) and a syrphid fly, a Scaeva pyrastri, according to Martin Hauser of the California Department of Food and Agriculture. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Have you ever seen a syrphid fly targeting a honeydew-laden lady beetle, aka ladybug, on a rose? This is an Asian lady beetle (Harmonia axyridis) and a syrphid fly, a Scaeva pyrastri, according to Martin Hauser of the California Department of Food and Agriculture. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Have you ever seen a honey bee and bumble bee racing for the nectar on catmint (Nepeta)? The bumble bee is a Bombus melanopygus.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Have you ever seen a honey bee and bumble bee racing for the nectar on catmint (Nepeta)? The bumble bee is a Bombus melanopygus.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Matadors in the Champagne Bubbles

It's cool how honey bees and syrphid flies gravitate toward the Iceland Poppy. It's a winter plant, and frankly, there isn't much to eat out there. The Iceland Poppy (Papaver nudicaule), a bowl-shaped, papery flower, fills the bill. The name is a...

A syrphid fly, aka hover fly or flower fly, on an Iceland Poppy. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A syrphid fly, aka hover fly or flower fly, on an Iceland Poppy. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A green bottle fly soaking up sunshine. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A green bottle fly soaking up sunshine. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A honey bee gathering pollen. In the foreground: a freeloader fly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A honey bee gathering pollen. In the foreground: a freeloader fly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Two syrphids sharing an Iceland Poppy. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Two syrphids sharing an Iceland Poppy. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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