Posts Tagged: rat-tailed maggot

Flies Are Pollinators, Too!

You may have noticed this little floral visitor in your garden. It might appear to be a bee, a common mistake to the untrained eye or those who think that all floral visitors are bees. But it's a fly, and flies are pollinators, too! This fly, from the...

Close-up of a fly, genus Eristalis, on a flower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Close-up of a fly, genus Eristalis, on a flower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Flies are pollinators, too! This little Eristalis is nectaring a zinnia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Flies are pollinators, too! This little Eristalis is nectaring a zinnia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Side view of an Eristalis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Side view of an Eristalis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Drone Fly: Good Pollinator

Yarrow, yarrow, yarrow.Drone fly, drone fly, drone fly.This little insect is often mistaken for a honey bee.  In the adult stage, both the drone fly and honey bee nectar flowers. However, the drone fly is a syrphid fly (family Syrphidae, subfamily...

Drone Fly

DRONE FLY (Eristalis tenax) crawls on yarrow. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Side View

SIDE VIEW of a drone fly, Eristalis tenax. The insect is often mistaken for a honey bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Yellow Pollen

LIKE A HONEY BEE, the drone fly (Eristalis tenax) pollinates flowers. Check out the yarrow pollen clinging to its abdomen. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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