Hurrah for hoverflies!
Keep the garden going for these pest controllers
It hasn’t been a great summer everywhere, has it? Here in Wales there have only been a few afternoons when the rain has held off, the clouds have parted and the garden has come to life.
When they’ve had the sun, the bees, butterflies and hoverflies have made the best of it.
On summer afternoons the sun moves steadily across our garden and the last bit to feel it is the far corner, where the shed and compost heap are. It’s a little sun-trap.
It’s where hoverflies collect to enjoy the late afternoon warmth and feed at the delicate white flowers of the cow parsley that has seeded itself there. They’re incredibly agile. They can hold position in mid-air like a tiny helicopter, but will zoom away from any disturbance only to return to the exact same spot as soon as possible. You can see some adult hoverflies busy at flowers from spring through to late autumn. But they’re at their most plentiful at this end of the summer.
They’re a very varied lot. Britain has more than 250 different hoverfly species, and they come in all shapes and sizes and many are garden visitors.
As a rule of thumb, hoverflies are brightlycoloured and as adults they drink nectar and eat pollen. Things are a bit more random though before they get to that stage. As larvae some feed on rotting wood, others live in ponds chomping on decaying plant material, while a few scavenge around in bee colonies.
From a gardener’s point of view, it’s good to know that most of these hoverflies-inwaiting spend their days hunting aphids. Along with ladybirds and lacewings, they provide a useful pest control service.
So, how can you encourage more of them into the garden? Well, that’s easy – give the adults what they want: nectar, pollen, and sunshine. The latter may be a problem, but growing plenty of hoverfly-friendly flowers isn’t difficult!
Six blooms that are a good bet
Fennel A herb garden giant that produces yellow flower heads that hoverflies love. Michaelmas daisy The open-faced flowers are a good landing pad for flying insects. Lacy phacelia A racts beneficial insects, including hoverflies, lacewings and bees. Sedum Flowers well into autumn. Hoverflies love its salmon-pink flowers. Marigold Will a ract seas of hoverflies. Garden angelica A food source for hoverflies in early summer.