Hover Fly
I thought I had found a special species of native bee when I looked closer at one of the photos I took over the weekend, but it was a hover fly. Hover flies are the mimics of the insect world with some adults looking like wasps and bees to reduce the risk of predation, some larvae giving off the same chemicals as ants and others looking like slugs. Unlike bees and wasps, they only have one pair of wings and their antennae are shorter. They are also called flower flies as many species feed on nectar and pollen and are helpful pollinators. Some species are looked at as a possible biological control of aphids as the larvae of some species feed on them. Colourful, harmless, pollinating, pest managers means they are all round good guys in my book.
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