Marmalade Hover Fly

Episyrphus balteatus

The Marmalade Hover Fly is a small, friendly insect that looks like a bee! It loves to fly around flowers and helps plants by spreading pollen.

Hábitat: Urban areas

Aspecto

The Marmalade Hover Fly is a small, bee-mimicking insect with a bright orange and black striped abdomen, much like marmalade. It has large reddish-brown eyes and clear, delicate wings. Its clever mimicry makes it look like a stinging wasp or bee to predators.

ReinoAnimaliaFiloArthropodaClaseInsectaOrdenDipteraFamiliaSyrphidaeGéneroEpisyrphus

Marmalade Hover Fly

Categoría

Insectos

Rareza

Common

Peligro

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Snaps

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Datos interesantes

Baby hover flies look like tiny slugs and are super hungry for aphids.

Some hover flies migrate thousands of kilometers, crossing continents!

They don't have mouths for biting, only a soft tube for sipping nectar.

This fly can fly backwards, just like a tiny helicopter in reverse!

Habilidades especiales

Marmalade Hover Fly can hover perfectly still in mid-air, then dart off rapidly, helping them dodge danger and find flowers.

Marmalade Hover Fly larvae can gobble up hundreds of garden aphids, which helps plants stay healthy and grow strong.

Marmalade Hover Fly visits many flowers, collecting pollen on its fuzzy body that helps plants make new seeds.

Medidas y detalles

Envergadura: 12-18 mm
Tamaño: 7-12 mm
Esperanza de vida: 10-30 días
Velocidad de vuelo: 10 km/h
Cantidad de patas: 6

Dieta y alimentación

Adults sip sweet nectar and pollen for energy, while their larvae are fierce hunters of tiny plant pests.

Diferencias por edad: Adults feed on nectar and pollen; larvae are carnivorous, preying on soft-bodied insects like aphids.

Alimentos principales

nectar
pollen
aphids
mealybugs
thrips

Método de búsqueda

Foraging

Conexiones ecológicas

eaten by

Black Bean Aphid

Aphis fabae

larvae actively hunt and consume these common garden pests.

pollinates

Dandelion

Taraxacum officinale

adults visit these flowers to collect nectar and spread pollen.

eaten by

Great Tit

Parus major

insectivorous birds may prey on adult hover flies.

Rasgos

Social

Los animales sociales viven en grupos organizados, cooperando para obtener beneficios de supervivencia como la búsqueda de alimento, la defensa y la cría de descendencia.

Colorido

Colorido describe a organismos u objetos que exhiben una amplia variedad de colores brillantes y distintivos.

Herbívoro

Este rasgo caracteriza a los organismos cuya dieta consiste total o principalmente en material vegetal.

Imán para polinizadores

Describe plantas que son particularmente atractivas y beneficiosas para una amplia variedad de organismos polinizadores.

Diurno

Los animales diurnos están activos principalmente durante el día y suelen descansar o dormir por la noche.

Adaptado a la ciudad

Esta característica de hábitat indica especies que pueden coexistir con los humanos en entornos urbanos y suburbanos, utilizando estructuras artificiales y espacios verdes.