Posts Tagged: flower fly

It's Friday Fly Day!

It's Friday Fly Day! And what better day than a Friday to post an image of a syrphid fly nectaring on a tower of jewels, Echium wildpretii? We all need "pretty" in our lives.   Syrphid flies, also known as "flower flies" and...

A syrphid fly foraging on a tower of jewels, Echium wildpretii, in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A syrphid fly foraging on a tower of jewels, Echium wildpretii, in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Syrphid Fly in Rock Purslane: When a House Is a Home

When a house is a home... Take the case of a syrphid fly, aka hover fly or flower fly. It's a cold and windy day, and it's tucked in the folds of a rock purslane, Calandrinia grandiflora, in Vacaville, Calif.It's sipping nectar, and rotating its...

A syrphid fly, tucked in the folds of a rock purslane, Calandrinia grandiflora, sips nectar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A syrphid fly, tucked in the folds of a rock purslane, Calandrinia grandiflora, sips nectar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The syrphid fly rotates its body to gather more nectar glean more sun. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The syrphid fly rotates its body to gather more nectar glean more sun. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The syprhid is just about ready to take flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The syprhid is just about ready to take flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Frit and the Fly: Who Wins?

The Frit and the fly...or the butterfly and the fly... That would be the Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) and the syrphid fly (family Syrphidae), aka flower fly or hover fly. They meet on a beautiful autumn day on an equally beautiful...

The syrphid fly tries to seek some nectar, but the Gulf Fritillary proclaims "This Mexican sunflower is occupied." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The syrphid fly tries to seek some nectar, but the Gulf Fritillary proclaims "This Mexican sunflower is occupied." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The butterfly begins to spread its wings as the syrphid edges closer to the nectar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The butterfly begins to spread its wings as the syrphid edges closer to the nectar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The butterfly spreads and flattens its wings. The syrphid does not move. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The butterfly spreads and flattens its wings. The syrphid does not move. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

"Maybe if come around from a different direction!" the fly seems to say. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

"Maybe if come around from a different direction!" the fly seems to say. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

"Ah, all mine!" proclaims the fly. "I scared off the butterfly." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

"Ah, all mine!" proclaims the fly. "I scared off the butterfly." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Do 'Cats Eat Other 'Cats? Do Larva Eat Other Larva?

It's a dog-eat-dog world out there. It's also a 'cat-eat-'cat world, that is, when a caterpillar eats another caterpillar. Or in this case, when larva eats larva. We recently spotted this lady beetle larva eating a syrphid fly larva on our yellow rose...

A lady beetle larva attacking and eating a syrphid fly larva. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A lady beetle larva attacking and eating a syrphid fly larva. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The lady beetle larva (first photo) grew to an adult like this one. This is an Asian lady beetle. Regarding cannibalism, monarch caterpillars can and do eat one another. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The lady beetle larva (first photo) grew to an adult like this one. This is an Asian lady beetle. Regarding cannibalism, monarch caterpillars can and do eat one another. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Jupiter's Beard Makes the Cut

Clean-shaven it's not. Yet it's a cut above. For bees, syrphids and butterflies, the long-blooming Jupiter's Beard make the cut. Centranthus ruber, also known as Jupiter's Beard, Red Valerian, Kiss-Me-Quick, and Keys to Heaven, is a popular...

A honey bee foraging on Jupiter's Beard. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A honey bee foraging on Jupiter's Beard. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A honey bee sipping nectar from Jupiter's Beard. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A honey bee sipping nectar from Jupiter's Beard. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A syrphid, also known as a hover fly or flower fly, hovering over Jupiter's Beard. Flies are pollinators, too! (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A syrphid, also known as a hover fly or flower fly, hovering over Jupiter's Beard. Flies are pollinators, too! (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A syrphid, aka hover fly or flower fly, sipping nectar from Jupiter's Beard. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A syrphid, aka hover fly or flower fly, sipping nectar from Jupiter's Beard. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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