Posts Tagged: honeydew

The Lady Beetle and the Syrphid Fly

So, here I am, an Asian lady beetle (Harmonia axyridis) perched on a rose bush in Vacaville,...

A large syrphid fly, Scaeva pyrastri (as identified by Martin Hauser of the California Department of Food and Agriculture), heads for a lady beetle. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A large syrphid fly, Scaeva pyrastri (as identified by Martin Hauser of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, heads for a lady beetle. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Touchdown! The large syrphid fly, Scaeva pyrastri, lands next to the lady beetle.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Touchdown! The large syrphid fly, Scaeva pyrastri, lands next to the lady beetle.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The syrphid fly licks honeydew from the lady beetle. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The syrphid fly licks honeydew from the lady beetle. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honeydew is a sugar-rich sticky liquid, secreted by aphids and some scale insects as they feed on plant sap. When their mouthpart penetrates the phloem, the sugary, high-pressure liquid is forced out of the anus of the aphid.

"Let's try this again! I'm coming in. Wait, turn around, will ya!" Syrphid fly caught in flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Tuesday, June 6, 2017 at 4:38 PM

Comments: 2

Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey

Tags: aphids (52), Bohart Museum of Entomology (666), California Department of Food and Agriculture (9), CDFA (11), honeydew (2), Lynn Kimsey (447), Martin Hauser (19), Scaeva pyrastri (1), syrphid fly (28), UC Davis (323)

Posts Tagged: honeydew

The Lady Beetle and the Syrphid Fly

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