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THE CALLIGRAPHERS

Hoverflies

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What are Hoverflies?

  • Hoverflies, also known as flower flies, are a widespread group of flies which can be found on every continent except Antarctica.
  • The adults of most species feed on nectar and pollen, and are often found hovering around flowers in search of food.
  • The larvae, or maggots, have a more varied diet across species. Hoverfly larvae feed on a wide range of foods from soil fungi, to decaying plant and animal material, to other insects like aphids.

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  • Many species of hoverflies are brightly colored with stripes and spots of black, yellow, or brown covering their bodies. This coloring often leads them to be mistaken for bees and wasps. However, this is only a bluff, and the flies cannot sting.

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  • The easiest way to identify a hoverfly is via its characteristic hovering, as most bees and wasps do not hover much.

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  • Other ways to differentiate them involve physical examination of the fly body. The antennae on the head are short and stubby, unlike the longer antennae of wasps.

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  • Because hoverflies are true flies, they have only one pair of wings, as opposed to wasps and bees, which have two pairs of wings.

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Hoverflies

Eastern Calligrapher

(Hoverfly)

Eastern Yellowjacket

(Wasp)

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What are Calligraphers?

  • Calligraphers are closely related hoverflies grouped together in the genus Toxomerus, and are found throughout North and South America.

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  • These hoverflies are colored similarly to wasps, and are thought to mimic them for protection against predators which want to avoid a wasp's painful sting.

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  • Eyes are large (taking up approximately 2/3 of head) and range from red to black in color.

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  • There are additional methods one can use to distinguish calligraphers from wasps. They do not engage in behavioral mimicry of wasps, so there is no leg waving, wing wagging, or mock stinging.

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Calligraphers

  • Toxomerus marginatus, also known as the margined calligrapher fly, is a common species of hoverfly. It is found in many parts of North America and ranges across Canada to C. America. It reaches sizes of 5-6 mm in length.

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  • Toxomerus marginatus is the most ubiquitous species in the North America and broods multiple times per year.

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  • The bowling-pin shaped larvae are predatory, and hunt thrips, aphids, and small caterpillars.

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Tulip Tree Aphid

Greenhouse Thrip

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Life Cycle

  • As in all flies, calligraphers begin life as eggs which hatch into larvae. These feed and grow until they reach the size necessary to become a pupa before finally emerging as an adult.

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  • The lifespan of the average adult calligrapher is about a month and varies depending on the season, with shorter lifespans in the summer and longer lifespans in the winter.

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  • Mating occurs in midair or on the ground, depending on the species.

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  • Females can lay hundreds of eggs at a time, and will place them where the larvae are likely to find prey or pollen food sources.

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Ecology

  • Calligrapher flies can be found in a wide variety of habitats, ranging from forests, fields, and meadows, to marshes, bogs, and fens, to alpine areas.

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  • Adults are often encountered over a ground cover of grass and leafy plants. Some species do well in disturbed or urban environments and are responsible for some pollination in gardens.

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  • Adult calligrapher flies commonly visit flowering plants in order to feed on nectar and pollen, and in their feeding spread pollen from plant to plant.

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  • Larval calligrapher flies typically feed on aphids, mites, thrips, caterpillars, and other tiny herbivores. Although some, like the larvae of the maize calligrapher, feed on corn pollen.

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  • This combination of pollinating adults and predatory larvae makes these flies desirable neighbors for gardening and agriculture.

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How to Attract Them

  • Calligraphers are most often found over vegetated areas with flowering plants, as these locations provide the flies with food and shelter.

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  • Calligrapher flies prefer the flowers with florets that are relatively open, as these allow easy access to nectar and pollen by insects with relatively short mouthparts compared to the longer proboscis of insects like butterflies.

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  • When given a choice, calligrapher flies prefer to feed on yellow or white colored flowers, like yarrow.

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  • Allowing plants like dandelions and cats ear to flower will provide these insects with an easy source of food.

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Yarrow

Cats Ear

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My Favorite Things About Them

  • Calligrapher is quite the charming name for these insects! Perhaps their hovering flight brings the movements of a pen to mind?

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  • The stark yellow and black of a calligrapher nicely complements its bright red eyes, and it is interesting and calming to watch one hovering around, inspecting a flower, before finally settling down to feed.

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  • If you sit still for long enough they will land on your arm or an outstretched finger, giving you a hands-on experience with these fascinating insects.

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Information Links

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Photgraph Links

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Further Reading

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