Hoverflies are true flies. Many of the hoverflies (e.g. Syrphus ribesii) mimic the appearance of wasps. With their yellow and black stripes, they ward off potential predators such as birds even though they have no sting. On further closer inspection it is easy to distinguish a hoverfly from a wasp. Hoverflies, as you would expect from the name, hover. They also make very sudden, fast, changes of direction. Unlike wasps, they do not have marked waists and they have only one pair of wings rather than two. Some hoverflies look like bees, for example, the narcissus-fly (Merodon equestris) and the aptly-named bee-fly (Bombylius major).

Although many hoverflies have black and yellow stripes, there are other colours such as the black and cream stripes of Scaeva pyrastri, the more honey bee-like drone-fly (Eristalis tenax), and the furry, brown, bumble bee like narcissus-fly.

Some hoverflies need dead wood for their larval stage. Dead wood is becoming a scarce commodity in our increasingly tidy woodlands and countryside.

Create a log pile that can be left to rot and leave or create small pools of stagnant water. Provide food plants as below.

Hoverfly larvae eat aphids such as greenfly.

Adult hoverflies are magnetised by plants with easily accessible nectar i.e. open or flat-headed flowers rather than those with long tubes.

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Poached egg plant (Limnanthes douglasii) is a real favourite. This plant has adorable flowers with, as the name suggests, white petals and yellow centres making them look like poached eggs. It is a great ground cover plant that attracts bees too.

Other favourites include stock, sweet cicely, shasta daisy, perennial cornflower, coneflower, bergenia, poppy, heliotrope, aubrieta, catmint, iceplant and arabis.

Depends on species.

Hoverfly larvae can eat up to 600 aphids before becoming adults!

The larvae of one hoverfly, called the drone fly e.g. Eristalis tenax, are known as ‘rat-tailed maggots’. They are fascinating little creatures. They are found in muddy, shallow water such as the bog garden and breath by extending a telescopic tube from the bottom where they lie up to the water surface like a snorkel! The adult drone fly has a body length of 10-15mm and looks like a male honey bee hence its name. It can be distinguished, however, by having only 1 pair of wings rather than two in the honey bee.

Look out for wasp-like insects displaying a darting or hovering behaviour. They look more delicate and fragile than wasps. A good place to watch the hovering behaviour is in a sheltered and relatively shady spot where the morning or evening sun is shining through shrubs making their wings glisten. They are totally harmless!