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Predatory Flies : Hover flies

categories: Natural Enemies Predatory Flies

last review date: 2025-08-23 06:55

Close-up of adult hover fly.
Adult hover fly (Sphaerophoria sp.) (Syrphidae)
Photo by: D.G. James

Biology

Superficially, hover flies do not look like ‘flies’, instead they resemble wasps by having a yellow or orange and black-banded abdomen. They range in size from ¼ to ½ inch and mimic stinging wasps and bees, which presumably confers survival benefits to the stingless hover fly.

Such is the cleverness of their deception that agricultural fields have been sprayed because of the presence of ‘wasps’! Before you beat a hasty retreat from that ‘wasp’ in your garden observe it a little closer… Is it hovering? Most wasps do not spend time hovering, but hover flies excel in this behavior.

Hover flies frequently visit flowers feeding on nectar and pollen (belying their other common name, flower flies) and are important pollinators.

The larvae of hover flies are ¼ to ½ inch long, green, gray or yellow and legless. They develop for 1-2 weeks feeding voraciously on aphids, thrips, mites and other small insects. If you find a legless maggot within a colony of aphids, this will be a hover fly larva.

Prey or Pest Targeted

  • Mites, aphids, scale insects, thrips, caterpillars, beetle larvae, flies, wasps, grasshoppers, bees

Attracting and Keeping Natural Enemies
and Pollinators in Your Yard and Garden

  • Native plants provide essential resources.
  • Native flora also provides natural overwintering sites.
  • Natural dispersion from nearby habitats ensures visitation.
  • Some kinds of beneficial insects predatory mites are commercially available.
  • Avoid regular use of synthetic, broad-spectrum pesticides.
  • Infrequent use of certain narrow-spectrum pesticides is more compatible with some beneficials.
  • Extensive lawns are also not conducive to attracting beneficial insects.

Management Options

See "Using Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in the Landscape" for successful problem management techniques.

Chemical Management

IMPORTANT: Visit Home and Garden Fact Sheets for more information on using pesticides.

  • None recommended

Additional Images



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