100 More Species: #4 Bee-mimic hover fly

[urbpan]

Bee-mimic hover fly Helophilus fasciatus

I've seen many more hover flies in the suburbs than in the city (though I did get a picture of one in the British city of Exeter) and I'm not entirely sure why that is. The adults require open habitat with a variety of flowering plants, and the young develop in wet places--the Genus name "helophilus" means marsh-lover. Neither criterion is too terribly rare in the city, though regular mowing probably creates a significant impact. Perhaps I just wasn't very observant in the past.

This species is much smaller than the yellow jacket hover fly that was in last year's 100 species list, but obviously bears the similar warning coloration. Hover flies (also called flower flies) are harmless and beneficial insects. They are some of the most colorful true flies, and display some really interesting territorial behavior.