Hoverfly in flight
Syrphidae
Hoverfly · Brooklyn Botanic Garden · 21 July 2024
A hoverfly caught airborne beside a petunia in the July border, wings blurred enough to show the hover this family is named for: holding position in the air rather than committing to a direction. Hoverflies are garden flies of every continent, and the aphid-eating ones are among the most useful insects a border has.
The huge eyes meeting at the top of the head mark a male; a female's are separated. Wasp-striped for protection it doesn't need, since hoverflies have no sting and the colouring is borrowed. The adults feed on nectar and pollen and the larvae of many species eat aphids.
Birds, insects, plants and other wildlife, mostly from Brooklyn, with some from further afield.
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