i see these insects sitting on my plants and i`m curious to if they are beneficial or not. do they help spread pollen? do they eat things like aphids? anyone know what they are?
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is this insect a good guy or a bad guy?
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i believe it is a hoverfly, 1 of 6000 possible species and yes to both of your questions.
the adult eats nectar and pollinate, the larvae consume lots of aphids.
they are commonly mistaken for bees or wasps.
the big kick is to get honeybees for pollination but there are so many plants that honeybees don't visit and the pollination falls on local/native bees and flies, like bumble bee, mason bee and hoverflies.
the adult eats nectar and pollinate, the larvae consume lots of aphids.
they are commonly mistaken for bees or wasps.
the big kick is to get honeybees for pollination but there are so many plants that honeybees don't visit and the pollination falls on local/native bees and flies, like bumble bee, mason bee and hoverflies.
bookmarked! thanks for posting it.The_NorthEast_ChileMan said:
thanks for the info. you are right about no honeybees in my garden. i usually see bumble bees and other assorted insects on the flowers but i never see honeybees.Burning Colon said:
That is most certainly not a hoverfly.
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In all likelihood, it is a species of long-legged fly. If so, it's definitely helpful.
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http://www.cirrusimage.com/flies_longlegged.htm
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In all likelihood, it is a species of long-legged fly. If so, it's definitely helpful.
.
http://www.cirrusimage.com/flies_longlegged.htm
Sawyer
eXtreme
I agree with solid7, long-legged fly, pics here:
https://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=Long-legged+fly&search=Search
From Wikipedia, "The adults are predators, feeding on small invertebrates including Collembola, aphids, and the larvae of Oligochaeta. Species of the genus Dolichopus commonly prey on the larvae of mosquitoes."
https://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=Long-legged+fly&search=Search
From Wikipedia, "The adults are predators, feeding on small invertebrates including Collembola, aphids, and the larvae of Oligochaeta. Species of the genus Dolichopus commonly prey on the larvae of mosquitoes."
That's rad. I see those little effers all the time. Many are that color, some are more of a copper or bronze color. I never knew they were predators, but I had also never suspected them of damaging my plants. They just seem to hang out on the top layer of the canopy, chillin'.
exactly! the one pictured is a bright metallic green but looks slightly different in my photo. i just see them hanging out but i guess they serve a good deed for us but i`ve never seen them in action.Bicycle808 said:
