How to Start Hoverfly Spotting

How to Start Watching Hoverflies Today – no equipment needed.

Before I discovered hoverflies, I thought flies were just that - flies. They were the insects that buzzed around gardens, landed on flowers or, worse still, decaying matter, and in the case of houseflies were generally best avoided. Then one day I paid closer attention to one of the many yellow-and-black-banded hoverflies. At first glance it looked like a wasp, yet it had no sting. Its markings were striking, almost like a carefully designed football kit, and the longer I looked, the more fascinated I became.

Before long I was completely hooked. I wanted to know their names, understand more about their behaviour, and uncover fascinating stories behind these incredible flies.  

But this article isn't really about how I became interested in hoverflies. It's about how you can begin observing them for yourself in the hope you might enjoy them as much as I do —and the best part is that you don't need any special equipment, no expensive cameras, or technical knowledge to get started.

I’ve been writing about hoverflies for quite a while now, and hopefully you've come across some of my work. I have enjoyed being a part of a community that believes in nature and are curious to learn more about it. If you're already a subscriber, thank you for being part of this growing community. If not, perhaps you'll consider joining us. No pressure, of course, but we'd love to have you along for the journey.

As I began to learn about hoverflies, I discovered a remarkable world hidden in plain sight. These insects are master mimics, important pollinators, essential decomposers - fascinating examples of evolutionary adaptation. Some species migrate across countries, others spend their larval stages hunting aphids, and many are overlooked by people who encounter them every day.

So, You're Standing in Your Garden – Can You Begin Studying Hoverflies?

The answer is yes, absolutely

In fact, one of the wonderful things about hoverflies is that you can start observing them almost anywhere, and you don't need any specialist knowledge to begin. If you have flowers, there's a good chance a hoverfly will find them.

The type of flowers you grow does matter, however. Hoverflies generally have relatively short mouthparts, so they favour open-faced flowers where nectar and pollen are easy to access. Plants such as daisies, scabious, marjoram, and many of the umbellifers are excellent choices. Deep tubular flowers or highly complex blooms, such as some dahlias, can be much harder for them to feed from.

If you provide suitable flowers, the hoverflies will come.

You Have Open Flowers – What Other Equipment Do You Need?

None at all.

Some of my favourite hoverfly observations have involved nothing more than standing quietly beside a patch of flowers and watching what arrived. Observation really is the key.

Most insects visit flowers for food. Female hoverflies often feed on pollen because it provides the protein needed for egg production, while both males and females visit flowers for nectar. Males can frequently be seen hovering close to feeding areas, waiting for receptive females to appear. Some species even form small mating gatherings, known as leks, in a similar way to species such as black grouse or deer.

Why not try it yourself? Find a sunny patch of flowers and spend fifteen minutes simply watching.

The first visitors are likely to be bumblebees. You may also see solitary bees such as mason bees or leafcutter bees, perhaps a beetle or two, and before long—hopefully—a hoverfly will buzz in and land among the flowers.

Once you start looking, you'll be surprised how many different varieties of insects and hoverflies there are.

How Do You Distinguish a Hoverfly from Other Flies or Insects?

With over 280 hoverfly species recorded in Britain and around 6,000 species worldwide, they are a diverse group. Not all of them are brightly coloured, but many species share a few key characteristics that make them fairly easy to recognise.

If the insect has a yellow-and-black patterned abdomen, large eyes, short antennae, and appears to be mimicking a wasp or bee, there's a good chance you're looking at a hoverfly.

Here are some simple features to check for:

Antennae

Hoverflies have short antennae, much shorter than those of most bees and wasps.

Left: Hoverfly Right: Bee

Eyes.

The eyes of hoverflies are often very large and occupy much of the head.

In many species, males have eyes that meet at the top of the head, while females have a noticeable gap between them.

Wings

Hoverflies belong to the order Diptera—the true flies—which means they have one pair of wings rather than the two pairs found in bees and wasps.

The 2nd pair are reduced to a pair of wing stubbs called halteres as indicated by the red circles. This can sometimes be difficult to see in the field, but it is one of the defining features of all flies.

For hoverflies a further distinction is a false spurious vein in the wing, which isn’t connected to anything, but it’s not easy to see in the field even with a hand lens. The vena spuria is the true distinguisher of a hoverfly.

Abdomen & Thorax

Many species display the familiar yellow-and-black bands associated with wasps, but hoverflies come in a surprising range of colours and patterns. Some are orange, bronzy, grey, or even almost entirely black.

For beginners, however, the striped species are often the easiest ones to identify.

If your insect matches the features above, and one of the abdominal & thoracic combinations below congratulations—you've probably found your first hoverfly.

Abdominal and Thoracic designs of hoverflies: Illustrations adapted from Stubbs, A.E & Falk, S.J 1983. A Design created for the British Naturalist Association Countryside magazine Spring & Summer 2018

Don't I Need a Book to Learn About the Different Types of Hoverflies?

Well, eventually, yes!

If you'd like to identify species and wish to learn more about their biology, behaviour, and ecology, a good identification guide is invaluable. I have several recommendations on my website that are suitable for beginners as well as more experienced naturalists. Click here to read some of my book reviews.

My website also covers many aspects from identification and life cycles to mimicry, migration, and behaviour. Click here to visit.

But here's the important thing: you don't need any of equipment to get started.

The most important skill is observation

If you are an absolute beginner, don't worry about species names for now.

Instead, step into your garden, stand by a flower, and simply watch.

Look closely at any insect that catches your attention.

• Does it have short antennae or long ones?
• How large are the eyes?
• Is the abdomen striped, spotted, or plain?
• Can you see one pair of wings or two?
• Does it hover in one place before darting away?
• Does it patrol a patch of flowers or defend a small territory?
• Does it have tiny brush-like mouthparts as it feeds?

Take your time. Watch how it moves. Notice the colours and patterns.

Not every insect you see will be a hoverfly. Some will be bees, wasps, beetles, or sawflies. But before long you'll begin to recognise the differences, and what initially seemed like a confusing blur of insects will start to make sense.

Like birdwatching, butterfly recording, or botany, observation is the foundation of everything. Birdwatchers may eventually need binoculars; botanists often carry field guides; butterfly enthusiasts might use nets, and those that like moths might need a light trap.

But with hoverflies, your most important piece of equipment is something you already possess:

Your eyes. 👀👀

Your powers of observation. 🕵️

Stand by a patch of flowers, watch carefully, and ask a simple question:

"What is that insect doing?"

You might be surprised where the answer leads.

Happy hoverfly hunting and please let me know whether the tips above work.