Halictid bees are among the smallest bees that are able to engage in buzz pollination, the Missouri conservation department reports. Like other bees, sweat bees do important work as pollinators, particularly for many different kinds of wildflowers and crops, including alfalfa, apples, stone fruits and sunflowers, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources reports. Sometimes the marking are bands like those seen on honeybees. They can be metallic or non-metallic, and most are black or brown, but they can have markings in red, yellow or green. Instead, sweat bees have a variable appearance depending on the particular species. Many lack the trademark yellow-and-black markings of bees like honeybees and many bumblebees. Sweat bees are slender and small, typically between one-quarter and three-quarters of an inch long. Sweat bees, also called halictid bees, are actually a large group of bees, with more than 500 species in North America, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation. Their proclivity for landing on us to drink our sweat is why most people are familiar with sweat bees, but what we call sweat bees are not actually just one species of bee. They are called sweat bees for the reason you would probably expect: They are attracted to our perspiration, which they drink, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources reports. And their stings are more mild than that of other bees and stinging insects, not causing such severe pain and irritation. Sweat bees are capable of stinging, but because they aren't aggressive, stings usually only happen if they are swatted at or you make accidental contact with them, according to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Her passion for ecologically-friendly gardening and all things plants makes her a dynamic speaker on topics that range from beneficial insects, growing vegetables and fruits, to urban trees.When it comes to stinging insects, sweat bees are perhaps the least imposing of all, due to their small size and non-aggressive nature. She meets the educational needs of her community, including local chapters of Master Gardener and Master Naturalist volunteers, through expertise in home horticulture and entomology. PHOTO CAPTION: Hover fly - Kelly Allsup, University of Illinois Extension Hover fly larvae - Ken JohnsonĪBOUT THE AUTHOR: Kelly Allsup is a Horticulture Educator for University of Illinois Extension serving Livingston, McLean and Woodford Counties. Therefore, if you see an aphid infestation in your garden, be sure to turn over the leaves to look for these beneficial maggots before you spray. The larvae feed for about seven to ten days before they pupate. The larvae grasp the prey with their jaws, hold them up in the air, suck out their body contents and toss the exoskeleton aside.Īccording to Cornell University, the larvae can eat up to 400 aphids. These larvae are great garden warriors and can be put in the same category as ladybugs and lacewing larvae in terms of their effectiveness in demolishing an aphid population. ![]() The larva, technically a maggot, is muted green to brown, legless, worm-like, and can be found on the undersides of leaves eating aphids, thrips, scale, caterpillars, and mealy bugs. The female hover fly will usually lay her eggs on or near aphid colonies and in two to three days the larvae will hatch. Hover fly larvae control aphids in crops and our backyard gardens.They also visit a greater diversity of flowers than the pickier bees. Hover flies can carry pollen much further than bees. ![]() Bees collect pollen that is fed to their larvae and they are limited to their home ranges. Although they may not be prolific, they may be more efficient pollinators than bees. Hover flies come in second to bees during pollination studies. ![]() However, before you kill the hover flies know that they provide some great ecosystem services. These late summer visitors have crashed our late summer activities leaving us swatting at flies. Hover flies are attracted to us because of the water from sweat and the salt on our skin. They cannot sting or bite but lick with and probe with their tongue. ![]() Hover flies just want to lick your sweat.Most people think they are sweat bees because of their black and yellow stripes but they don’t sting despite their extremely offensive behavior during the latter part of the summer. Regardless of their interactions with us, it is the covert interactions with the environment that make them standout insects in Illinois. Here are three things you didn’t know about Hover Flies: They are annoying, pesky, and won’t leave you alone.
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