Master Gardeners of Ventura County
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Master Gardeners of Ventura County

Posts Tagged: flies

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 honey bees. Hey, if it's a critter on a flower, it's a bee, right? Not necessarily! Syrphid flies...

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
Focus Area Tags: Environment, Innovation, Natural Resources, Yard & Garden

Charlotte Alberts and Those Fascinating Assassin Flies

Oh, the common names that insects bear...murder hornets, killer bees, cow killers, biting lice, assassin flies...if only those insects knew the violence in their names! Assassin flies--so fascinating--are also commonly referred to as robber flies,...

An assassin fly sketched by UC Davis doctoral alumna Charlotte Herbert Alberts, who is both an entomologist and an artist. (Copyrighted image by Charlotte Alberts, used with permission)
An assassin fly sketched by UC Davis doctoral alumna Charlotte Herbert Alberts, who is both an entomologist and an artist. (Copyrighted image by Charlotte Alberts, used with permission)

An assassin fly sketched by UC Davis doctoral alumna Charlotte Herbert Alberts, who is both an entomologist and an artist. (Copyrighted image by Charlotte Alberts, used with permission)

Posted on Wednesday, November 8, 2023 at 3:40 PM
Focus Area Tags: Environment, Innovation, Natural Resources

Geoffrey Attardo: Seminar on Mating Biology of Tsetse Flies

Did you know that tsetse flies give birth to live offspring? That's just one of the facts that UC Davis medical entomologist-geneticist Geoffrey Attardo will discuss when he presents a seminar on "The Mating Biology of Tsetse Flies--Insights...

Mating tsetse flies. (Photo by Geoffrey Attardo, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology)
Mating tsetse flies. (Photo by Geoffrey Attardo, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology)

Mating tsetse flies. (Photo by Geoffrey Attardo, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology)

Posted on Monday, October 2, 2023 at 8:00 AM
Focus Area Tags: Environment, Innovation, Natural Resources, Pest Management

Bee Flies: Pollinators with a Bad Reputation

The late Argentine-born biologist Beatriz Moisset (1934-2022) of Willow Grove, Pa., called the insect "A Pollinator with a Bad Reputation." Moisset, who received her doctorate from the University of Cordoba, Argentina, and authored the...

A bee fly, family Bombyliidae, heads for a yellow zinnia in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A bee fly, family Bombyliidae, heads for a yellow zinnia in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A bee fly, family Bombyliidae, heads for a yellow zinnia in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The bee fly hovers over a yellow zinina. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The bee fly hovers over a yellow zinina. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The bee fly hovers over a yellow zinina. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The bee fly sips nectar from the zinnia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The bee fly sips nectar from the zinnia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The bee fly sips nectar from the zinnia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The bee fly takes flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The bee fly takes flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The bee fly takes flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Wednesday, September 20, 2023 at 4:56 PM
Focus Area Tags: Environment, Innovation, Natural Resources, Yard & Garden

It's Friday Fly Day!

It's Friday Fly Day! Time to post an image of a fly. Or two flies. On a cockroach. The scenario: a large cockroach drowned in a small water trough located near downtown Vacaville, Calif., and when the water drained, the roach slid out. It...

A green bottle fly feasts on a cockroach, thought to be a Turkestan cockroach, a newer species in California. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A green bottle fly feasts on a cockroach, thought to be a Turkestan cockroach, a newer species in California. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A green bottle fly feasts on a cockroach, thought to be a Turkestan cockroach, a newer species in California. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Two green bottle flies feasting on what appears to be a Turkestan cockroach. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Two green bottle flies feasting on what appears to be a Turkestan cockroach. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Two green bottle flies feasting on what appears to be a Turkestan cockroach. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Friday, August 4, 2023 at 4:19 PM
Focus Area Tags: Environment, Natural Resources, Pest Management, Yard & Garden

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