Help hoverflies: 5 top plants and 5 fun facts
Sometimes overlooked, hoverflies are critically important pollinators, but like so many, they are in trouble. Here are five plants you can grow to help hoverflies, plus five fun facts to have you seeing them in a whole new light
There’s so much more to hoverflies than the high-pitched buzz in your greenhouse on a hot summer’s day, or the curious spectator hovering alongside you as you work in the garden, before zooming off to the nearest flower.
Did you know that hoverflies are the second most important pollinators after bees? Or that they visit 72% of food crops worldwide, and over 70% of animal-pollinated wild plants?
As well as being prolific pollinators, hoverflies include some species whose larve feed on aphids in our gardens, and others who break down waste organic material. Providing pollination, recycling services and natural management of aphids on our roses and broad beans, hoverflies are a true gardener’s friend.
With this in mind, why not give hoverflies a helping hand by including some of their favourite plants in your outdoor space. Take your pick from these top recommendations from RHS Senior Wildlife Expert Helen Bostock.
Best plants for hoverflies
Viburnum opulus (guelder rose)
“Hoverflies don’t tend to be long-tongued, so need accessible platforms on which to access pollen. The flat clusters of lacecap-like flowers in late spring on this shrub are perfect,” says Helen.
Rubus fruticosus (blackberry)
“Hoverflies love a wild bramble flower, but cultivated blackberries do a similar job and aren’t as vigorous,” says Helen. “You can train them up walls and even get thornless cultivars.”
Phacelia tanacetifolia (fiddleneck)
“Commonly grown as a green manure, the pollen, which pokes out of lavender-blue summer flowers on long filaments, is easily accessible. Leave some to bloom and dig the rest in, to improve soil,” says Helen.
Calluna vulgaris (heather)
“A good late summer- or autumn-flowering plant for a range of hoverflies, including Helophilus pendulus – known as the footballer due to black football-shirt-like stripes on its thorax,” says Helen. “Heathers can be grown in ericaceous
Hedera helix (common ivy)
By allowing some ivy to grow on a wall, fence or tree, you are providing a hotel for invertebrates as well as a late-season buffet for hoverflies and bees such as the ivy bee.
“The nectar and pollen is held on the surface of the flower – you can see it glistening – which is perfect for hoverflies and many other autumn-flying pollinators. A late, great supply of nectar and pollen,” says Helen.
Hoverfly plants by season
Aim to pick at least one of these plants for each season to support hoverflies throughout the year.
Spring
Guelder rose, Viburnum opulus
Rock cress, Aubretia
Cowparsley, Anthriscus sylvestris
Summer
Blackberry, Rubus fruiticosus
Mexican fleabane, Erigeron
Yarrow, Achillea
Autumn
Ivy, Hedera helix
California poppy, Escholzia californica
Aster, Symphyotrichum
- Hoverflies can travel hundreds of kilometres a day. They can also carry pollen over distances greater than 100 kilometres over open water.
- Some male hoverflies defend a patch of sunlight, claiming it as their territory. Male pied plumehorns hover at head height in beams of sunlight, chasing off other males and waiting for passing females.
- The batman hoverfly is named for the dark marking on its thorax, which often looks remarkably like the logo of its superhero namesake.
- You can tell the sex of most hoverflies by looking at the eyes. If they meet in the middle of the head, it’s a male. If there’s a gap between them, it’s a female. There are some exceptions, such as the footballer hoverfly – both sexes of this species have a gap between the eyes.
- The colour of some hoverflies can vary depending on the temperature at which the larvae develop. Cooler conditions produce darker adults.
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So how do you tell a hoverfly from other true flies? Many hoverflies are black and yellow, with a fairly broad, oval body. But they can also be long and thin, dark, shiny or even furry.To be certain, you can study the wings. The wings of flies are crossed by dark lines known as veins. These help support the shape of the wing. Hoverflies have an extra line, called the ‘vena spuria’. It’s not always easy to see, but this is one of the best indicators that you’re looking at a hoverfly. Another good sign is the presence of two veins running across the wing, near the tip.
