Has anyone else noticed how many more hoverflies than usual there are this year? Most plants in my garden seem to be surrounded by clouds of these insects. I'm not complaining though as they are definitely beneficial to the garden.
They are about 19mm long with black and yellow striped bodies (similar to wasps but smaller and non-stinging) and are capable of hovering and darting in any direction in helicopter fashion. This makes them interesting to watch.
The hoverflies themselves feed on nectar and swarms of them can be found round flowers in summer. Their larvae, however, are predators and feed on aphids. They provide an excellent biological control to aphid infestation.
I usually suffer infestations of greenfly on my roses and blackfly on the runner beans and have to spray regularly with soapy water to try and control them. This year, presumably due to the high proliferation of hoverflies, I have had no problem with blackfly and very few greenfly. I hope they will be as effective at controlling aphids in my garden next year.
Gardening blog featuring a medium sized traditional English garden with mature trees, shrubs, lawn, herbaceous borders, vegetable patch, greenhouse and containers. All photos have been taken in my garden.
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