Hoverfly facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Syrphidae
Sixteen different species of hoverfly
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Diptera
Suborder:	Brachycera
Section:	Aschiza
Superfamily:	Syrphoidea
Family:	Syrphidae

Hoverflies, also called 'flower flies' or 'syrphid flies', are a family of insects known as Syrphidae. They get their name because they can hover in the air, staying in one spot like tiny helicopters. You often see them buzzing around flowers.

Adult hoverflies mostly eat nectar and pollen from flowers. This helps them get energy and stay healthy. But their young, called larvae (which look like small maggots), eat many different things.

Some hoverfly larvae are like nature's clean-up crew. They eat decaying plants and dead animals found in soil, ponds, or streams. Other larvae are tiny hunters. They prey on small insects like aphids and thrips. These plant-sucking insects can cause a lot of damage to crops.

Hoverflies as Helpers

Hoverflies are very important helpers in nature. Aphids cause millions of dollars of damage to crops every year. Hoverflies are natural enemies of these pests. This means they help control aphid numbers. Because of this, hoverflies are sometimes used in biological control to protect plants.

Many adult hoverflies are also important pollinators. When they visit flowers to drink nectar, they help move pollen from one flower to another. This helps plants make seeds and fruits.

Where Do Hoverflies Live?

There are about 6,000 different species of hoverflies. These species are grouped into about 200 genera. Hoverflies are found all over the world. You can find them on almost every continent, except for Antarctica.

Clever Disguise: Mimicry

Hoverflies are harmless to most other animals. But they often look like dangerous insects, such as wasps. They have black and yellow stripes, just like wasps. This is a special trick called Batesian mimicry.

In Batesian mimicry, a harmless animal looks like a dangerous one. It's like a sheep wearing a wolf's clothing! Hoverflies look a bit like small wasps. Birds and other animals that eat insects know that wasps can sting. So, they often avoid hoverflies because they think they are wasps. This clever disguise helps hoverflies stay safe from predators.

Images for kids

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  Midair mating of Simosyrphus grandicornis

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  Hover fly depositing egg on Epipactis helleborine which has ants farming aphids

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  An ichneumonid wasp ovipositing inside a hover fly larva

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  Episyrphus balteatus on a daisy

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  Eupeodes corollae

See also

In Spanish: Sírfidos para niños