When people think of flies, they generally think of the hated house fly, but in reality the bug world has an immense variety of others including this month's selection - the Hover Fly, of which there are numerous species in North America.
Sometimes they are also called Flower Flies or bee mimics. They hover like hummingbirds, able to stay in one spot in mid-air, visiting blossoms like bees do.
We are fortunate to have images of both the male (above) and female (below). As with many flies, the eyes are a great way to tell the two sexes apart with males usually having eyes close together whereas the female's eyes are much further apart. |
