Yellow Jacket Hoverfly

[Rick]

These guys invaded my compost bin. I found the gigantic maggots and the pupa. I brought some of the pupa in and two of them hatched overnight.

 

[revmdn]

Are they good for feeding to mantids?

 

[Rick]

Are they good for feeding to mantids?

Sure. That's where they are headed.

 

[Katnapper]

The "tails" (stinger mimic?) on the pupae are really interesting! When they come out do they have appendages that look like stingers at the back end?

 

[Rick]

The "tails" (stinger mimic?) on the pupae are really interesting! When they come out do they have appendages that look like stingers at the back end?

When I first saw them in the bin I thought they were poop. But I soon realized what they were. They are a pretty good bee mimic. They don't have anything that resembles a stinger.

 

[hibiscusmile]

Rick, do they bite like the wasps? and these are not yellow jackets but some kind of fly?

 

[Rick]

Rick, do they bite like the wasps? and these are not yellow jackets but some kind of fly?

No. They feed on nectar and pollinate plants. They are hoverflies that mimic yellow jackets to fool predators.

 

[hierodula]

These guys invaded my compost bin. I found the gigantic maggots and the pupa. I brought some of the pupa in and two of them hatched overnight.

are you going to breed them :huh: if you do, good luck

 

[jameslongo]

The "tails" (stinger mimic?) on the pupae are really interesting! When they come out do they have appendages that look like stingers at the back end?

The stinger-like appendage could well be a breathing apparatus.

 

[ABbuggin]

Oh wow. Do you have more? I'd be interested in haveing some pupae.

 

[Rick]

Oh wow. Do you have more? I'd be interested in haveing some pupae.

Plenty.

Someone asked if I was going to breed them, No. They will be fed to mantids or released.

 

[superfreak]

thats a really good mimic! id be interested to see some that are fully emerged.

 

[ismart]

They make great mantis food .

 

[Rick]

thats a really good mimic! id be interested to see some that are fully emerged.

There are two in the pic.

 

[ABbuggin]

Plenty. Someone asked if I was going to breed them, No. They will be fed to mantids or released.

Pm sent! I like hover flies a lot, especially for taking pics. I may try breeding them just for fun, I know a few things about their life cycle.

 

[superfreak]

There are two in the pic.

pardon me, i thought they were only partially emerged - the abdomen is hard to see. ah well!

 

[robo mantis]

Hover flys are just like mantids. They are very beneficial! They lay eggs in the middle of aphid colonies and their larva each something like 50 aphids a day! I saw some hovering on my bushes and i saw aphid colonies, and they always damage my plants every year. But the hover flies layed eggs this year and no more aphids!

 

[PhilinYuma]

The stinger-like appendage could well be a breathing apparatus.

Just saw this thread. Yeah, the "rat tail" acts like a snorkel for some species that live under water or in a very wet substrate like manure. The larvae of a lot of these flies are insectivorous, though.

 

[Rick]

Hover flys are just like mantids. They are very beneficial! They lay eggs in the middle of aphid colonies and their larva each something like 50 aphids a day! I saw some hovering on my bushes and i saw aphid colonies, and they always damage my plants every year. But the hover flies layed eggs this year and no more aphids!

Thats now what these were eating. They are crawling around in a big mass of rotting vegetable matter.