Hoverflies

Hoverflies are 'true' flies, belonging to the family Syrphidae. Named from their ability to hover, and often brightly coloured, hoverflies are common, feeding on pollen and nectar. Many hoverfly species mimic various species of bees and wasps, often so well that you need to look closely to tell the difference (hoverflies have one pair of wings rather than two, and very large eyes). However, hoverflies are harmless and a true gardener's friend, as the larvae of several common species have a voracious appetite for greenfly!

There are over 250 species of hoverfly found in Britain, of which 59 have been seen in Ely Wildspace (this list compiled by Mark Welch in 2015). Only a few hoverflies have common names.

If you would like to see what a particular species looks like, go to the website of the National Biodiversity Network and type the Binomial name of the species into the 'Search for Taxa' box. Or simply use Google search.

Logging species is an important aspect of our work in Ely Wildspace. If you would like to find out more please visit our page on Biological Recording