The Wildlife of
Cragside

 
Home
A-Z Index
Statistics

Hover-flies of Cragside


Bog Hoverfly

Bumblebee Hoverfly

Criorhina Berberina

Common Hoverfly

Eristalis Pertinax

Great Pied Hoverfly

Helophilus Pendulus

Marmalade Hoverfly

Xylota Segnis

It is very easy to see a hoverfly and think its a bee or a wasp, but they are flies, and they are quite different in behaviour. Hoverflies have two wings, whereas bees have four, but this is not always obvious to see. An easier way to differentiate them is their antenna. Bees have fairly long antenna, whereas hover-flies have very short ones. There are literally thousands of different sorts of hoverfly, so apologies if I get their names wrong. Hoverflies are referenced by Latin names rather than nice descriptive names that bees are given.