Marmalade Hoverfly
The marmalade hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus) is a small orange and black fly that hovers over flowers and looks like a tiny wasp. It is a harmless pollinator and, as a larva, a voracious aphid predator.
The marmalade hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus) is a small orange and black fly that hovers over flowers and looks like a tiny wasp. It is a harmless pollinator and, as a larva, a voracious aphid predator.
🧬 Field Guide Specimen: Open Marmalade Hoverfly in the CRV Science Field Guide to log the specimen, see its place among the Ecdysozoa lineages in the Cladogram Explorer, and test your recall in the Red List conservation game.
Batesian Mimicry: Pretending to Sting
Hoverflies have no sting, yet their yellow and black stripes resemble those of wasps and bees. Birds that have learned to avoid stinging insects tend to avoid them too. This kind of harmless mimic of a harmful species is called Batesian mimicry.
Billions on the Move
Hoverflies migrate in large numbers. A radar and observation study found that billions of hoverflies cross southern England every year, carrying pollen and controlling aphids, similar to the better-known migration of butterflies.
Gardeners' Allies
The larva is a legless, translucent maggot that eats hundreds of aphids. Planting nectar-rich flowers supports adults. See Seven-spot Ladybird.
Marmalade Hoverfly at a Glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Episyrphus balteatus |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Arthropoda |
| Class | Insecta |
| Order | Diptera |
| Family | Syrphidae |
| Field Guide group | Ecdysozoa: Hexapoda (Insects) |
| Diagnostic feature (Field Guide) | Orange abdomen with black bands that mimic a wasp, hovers motionless over flowers, and has only one pair of wings. |
| Family | Syrphidae |
| Mimicry | Batesian mimic of wasps |
See Also
- Seven-spot Ladybird — another aphid predator
- Common Wasp — its model