Master Gardeners of Ventura County
University of California
Master Gardeners of Ventura County

Posts Tagged: flower flies

The Good Guys--and Girls!

Think of them as "the good guys" and "the good girls." Insects such as lacewings, lady beetles and flower flies. We're delighted to see that the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation has just published a 250-page book on "Farming with Native...

A syrphid fly, aka flower fly or hover fly, nectaring on a tower of jewels. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A syrphid fly, aka flower fly or hover fly, nectaring on a tower of jewels. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A syrphid fly, aka flower fly or hover fly, nectaring on a tower of jewels. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A lacewing glows in the afternoon sun. Larvae eat such soft-bodied insects as mealybugs, psyllids, thrips, mites, whiteflies, aphids, small caterpillars, leafhoppers, and insect eggs, according to the UC IPM website. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A lacewing glows in the afternoon sun. Larvae eat such soft-bodied insects as mealybugs, psyllids, thrips, mites, whiteflies, aphids, small caterpillars, leafhoppers, and insect eggs, according to the UC IPM website. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A lacewing glows in the afternoon sun. Larvae eat such soft-bodied insects as mealybugs, psyllids, thrips, mites, whiteflies, aphids, small caterpillars, leafhoppers, and insect eggs, according to the UC IPM website. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The lady beetle, aka ladybug, is well known for its voracious appetite of aphids. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The lady beetle, aka ladybug, is well known for its voracious appetite of aphids. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The lady beetle, aka ladybug, is well known for its voracious appetite of aphids. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Monday, August 11, 2014 at 10:11 PM
Tags: Claire Kremen (11), flower flies (7), hover flies (7), lacewings (3), lady bugs (5), syprhids (1), UC IPM (60), Xerces Society (33)

Just Hovering

Every insect looks prettier when it lands on a tower of jewels (Echiium wildpretti).When in full bloom, the 9-to-10-foot-high plant, native to the Canary Islands, blazes with firecracker-red flowers. It's a showstopper.Syrphid flies, aka flower flies or...

Syrphid Fly
Syrphid Fly

SYRPHID FLY, aka flower fly, sips nectar from a tower of jewels. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Close-Up
Close-Up

BEAUTY of a syrphid fly on a tower of jewels. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Thursday, May 20, 2010 at 8:56 PM

Caught on the Cosmos

Cosmos flowers are somewhat like Libras. They balance. In fact, the word,  "cosmos,"  means "harmony" or "ordered universe" in Greek. Plant cosmos and you'll soon be enjoying colorful flowers that belong to the...

Syrphid on Cosmos
Syrphid on Cosmos

SYRPHID, aka flower fly or hover fly, lands on a cosmos. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Close-Up
Close-Up

CLOSE-UP of syrphid nectaring on a cosmos. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Friday, May 22, 2009 at 6:39 PM
Tags: cosmos (9), flower flies (7), hover flies (7), syrphids (4)

Patience in the Garden

Patience. That's what it takes to capture images of syrphids, aka flower or hover flies. They are oh, so tiny and they move oh, so quickly. As the morning dawns,  you wait, camera poised, near their preferred blossoms.  You'll need a keen eye...

Hovering
Hovering

SYRPHID or flower fly aims for a cactus blossom. A high shutter speed slows the wing action. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Mouthparts
Mouthparts

MOUTHPARTS of a syrphid or flower fly, frozen in time and space. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Friday, May 15, 2009 at 6:28 PM

Just Hovering

It's often mistaken for a honey bee. It's not a honey bee. It's a hover fly or flower fly. And this one, hovering around the plants last Saturday in the Storer Gardens at the University of California, Davis, looked like a Syrphus opinator to me. So I...

Hover Fly
Hover Fly

A hover fly or flower fly, Syrphus opinator, rests on a stem in the Storer Gardens, UC Davis. You'll be seeing more of these hover flies as the weather warms. This photo was taken Saturday, Jan. 24. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Head of Hover Fly
Head of Hover Fly

HEAD OF HOVER FLY--This close-up photo shows the head of the hover fly, Syrphus opinator. The insect is often mistaken for a honey bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 2:44 PM

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