California Gardens - The Year Round Gardening Site

Hover Fly, Flower Fly, Syrphid - Toxomerus marginatus

The Hover Fly is one of those beneficial insects you should encourage in your garden when you find them. The adults eat nectar and pollinate and the grubs eat aphids and othe soft bodied insects aplenty. Hover Flies have amazing flying skills. Whatever a lightening quick jet might do they can, whatever a helicopter might do they can do that too, forwards, backwards, sideways, or still, they are amazing to watch. Toxomerus marginatus is the most common of the Hover Flies. There are around 150 species in the group. The wide abdomen means this one is a female. This is the average coloring for the species.

Hover Fly Front, Flower Fly, Syrphid, Toxomerus marginatus

Hover Fly: Face to face image of a Hover Fly. The maggots are voracious consumers of aphids, the adults are pollinators. High resolution photos are part of our garden image collection.

Hover Fly Side, Flower Fly, Syrphid, Toxomerus marginatus

Hover Fly: Side image of a Hover Fly. High resolution photos are part of our garden image collection.

Hover Fly Overhead, Flower Fly, Syrphid, Toxomerus marginatus

Hover Fly: Overhead image of a Hover Fly. High resolution photos are part of our garden image collection.

Hover Fly Pollen, Flower Fly, Syrphid, Toxomerus marginatus

Hover Fly collecting pollen from Calandrinia grandiflora. High resolution photos are part of our garden image collection.