Athena Rayne Anderson

This post is part of an article I submitted for publication with a Georgia magazine called “Coastscapes” in 2010-2012. I’ve been unable to find this magazine online, but want to share the content for your educational enjoyment. The magazine was geared towards the general public, so there are no references to research articles. Feel free to contact me if you’d like help finding references for any of the content! All images that are not my own are used with permission.

Flies are a group of pollinators you might not think about much. Many pollinating flies, like the ones featured here, are often confused for bees. This is another great example of mimicry; the flies benefit from the appearance of a stinging insect, even though they are harmless. Flowers that are only pollinated by flies tend to smell like rotting meat or animal droppings. However, many plants benefit from fly pollination while attracting other pollinators at the same time. Goldenrod and daisies are great examples. The two flies shown here are the most common types that you’ll see in your coastal Georgia garden. Both have a habit of hovering in mid-air and darting from one spot to another, which is uncommon behavior for the small bees of the region.

Common Native Pollinating Flies in the Georgia Coastal Plain

These flies are usually honey bee-sized or smaller, with bold color patterns and large eyes. Some even have stripes on their eyes! You’ll see these flies hovering in place in between flower visits. Species in this family have a habit of moving their abdomens up and down while they drink nectar. They are also nearly hairless- one way to tell them apart from the bee-flies. Hover flies usually visit small, open flowers, like aster, in the summer months. Larvae of these flies are often predators of aphids and thrips.

These tend to look similar to hover flies, but are usually more fuzzy and robust. They also behave similarly; hovering and darting from one place to the next. Bee-flies are about the size of a honey bee, and usually larger than hover flies. Larvae in this family are commonly predators or parasites of other insects.

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