Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Hoverflies

The mugshots of 16 different species of Hoverflies ( Syrphidae ) who have more then likely stolen the identities of numerous bees, wasps, and their children...>:)

I dare say I'll be researching these like crazy. After reading about Volucella sp. I'm compelled to find out even more on other species of Hoverflies because they're mind bogglingly fascinating. I also wonder how many species will break the rule of the "typical" hoverfly life cycle.

Assuming that they all more or less follow the same "rules". Hell no. They're quite surprisingly variable as the Wikipedia article mentions ( backed up with references galore ).

I also wonder if any are parasites. I had assumed that some species were because I could've sworn that I've read about certain species infiltrating various bees and wasps nest and killing their children. But Wikipedia doesn't mention a thing....

I'll keep looking on that of course. Photos of said mugshots borrowed from Wikipedia.

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