• Post Reply Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic
permaculture forums growies critters building homesteading energy monies kitchen purity ungarbage community wilderness fiber arts art permaculture artisans regional education skip experiences global resources cider press projects digital market permies.com pie forums private forums all forums
this forum made possible by our volunteer staff, including ...
master stewards:
  • paul wheaton
  • Anne Miller
  • Carla Burke
  • Nancy Reading
  • John F Dean
  • Timothy Norton
  • Jay Angler
stewards:
  • r ransom
  • Pearl Sutton
  • Tereza Okava
master gardeners:
  • Christopher Weeks
gardeners:
  • M Ljin
  • Megan Palmer
  • Kate Downham

ID an itty bitty wild bee? It's a hover fly!

 
steward & bricolagier
Posts: 16453
Location: SW Missouri
13073
2
goat cat fungi books chicken earthworks food preservation cooking building homestead ungarbage
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Lots of itty bitty bees on my property! Finally got one to pose for me, on the top of my water bottle.
Maybe 5-7 mm long. Really tiny. Cute! A bit helpful (ooh, let me help you do that! No! get out of my face!) but didn't sting, just kind of... helped. Very curious beasties, they looked at everything.
Anyone know who they are?




 
steward
Posts: 3725
Location: woodland, washington
248
  • Likes 4
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
looks like maybe a hover fly to me.
 
pollinator
Posts: 11856
Location: Central Texas USA Latitude 30 Zone 8
1307
cat forest garden fish trees chicken fiber arts wood heat greening the desert
  • Likes 3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Looks like a Hover Fly https://nature.mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/flower-flies-syrphids
 
Pearl Sutton
steward & bricolagier
Posts: 16453
Location: SW Missouri
13073
2
goat cat fungi books chicken earthworks food preservation cooking building homestead ungarbage
  • Likes 2
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
OH! Cool! They are hover flies! Could be why I didn't see them on the Bee ID pages....
THANK YOU BOTH!! :D
 
Posts: 502
Location: West Midlands UK (zone 8b) Rainfall 26"
144
  • Likes 2
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
ID tip - bees and wasps have longish antenna that stick out sideways like horns.  Flies have much larger eyes and short things that stick out forwards like a beak.  I recently posted this picture in "cool bug pics"of a very large hoverfly I met in my garden that pretends to be a hornet... but still no tell tale horn like antenna!
IMG_3284.JPG
[Thumbnail for IMG_3284.JPG]
 
The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts -Marcus Aurelius ... think about this tiny ad:
Start Your Farm Now - sales and marketing for farmers course
https://permies.com/t/372890/Start-Farm-sales-marketing-farmers
reply
    Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic