The Wildlife of
Gibside

 
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Hover-flies of Gibside


Common Hoverfly

Great Pied Hoverfly

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.