Will you become a hoverfly hero?

Northumberland Wildlife Trust and the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and are calling on gardeners across the country to help save hoverflies. This fly family is the second most significant pollinator after bees - some species of hoverfly are known to visit more flowers than bees.

These insects are unsung heroes of many of ecosystems. Hoverflies visit 52% of crops globally which they either pollinate or protect by eating sap-sucking aphids. Additionally, they pollinate wildflowers, are food for birds and even help break down organic matter in gardens.

Yet, intensive agriculture, harmful pesticides, urban development, and climate change have all taken their toll. Hoverfly distribution has seen a 44% decline between 1980 to 2020 and in 2022 the International Union for the Conservation of Nature added hoverflies to its Red List of threatened species.

Hoverflies are experts in disguise. These stingless insects are often mistaken for wasps, bees or even hornets and the different types go by various common names such as Batman, Footballer and Marmalade, thanks to their distinctive markings and colours.

True flies have only one pair of flight wings (whereas bees and wasps have two) and they make up over 280 of the 6000 fly species in the UK. It can be easier to identify them by their behaviour than their looks because they hover or even zigzag around plants.

The larvae of hoverfly use a wide range of habitats. Many like damp places, ponds with muddy margins., if space is limited, a container filled with earth, leaves and wood, kept damp with rainwater, will be perfect. Other species will happily munch through the aphids on your garden plants.

For the adult hoverflies, provide a wide range of flowers to provide nectar throughout the year. Flowers from the daisy and carrot family will offer great opportunities for photographs while the flies sip nectar.

Geoff Dobbins, Northumberland Wildlife Trust Estates Manager says: “Hoverflies are the hidden heroes of our gardens and countryside - but whatever their shape, size, or disguise, they are critical for our food security.

“We’d love everyone in the region to invite them into their gardens or outside space by providing a range of flowers to feed on such angelica, cow parsley, and oxeye daisies, feverfew, Astrantia, and calendula.

“Also, if you can provide dead wood for them to lay their eggs in, or, if space is limited, a container filled with earth, leaves and wood kept damp with rainwater will be perfect for them. Do this and you will have these gardeners' friends for life. And don’t forget to tell your friends.”

Experts from the two charities have designed a series of projects for gardeners to help hoverflies in spaces large or small. These include:

• Pollinator plant boxes: ideal for small-space gardens or balconies, these can be packed with flowering plants to suit the season, representing a giant buffet for visiting hoverflies.
• Hoverfly lagoons: small pools of shallow water where fallen leaves create a perfect breeding ground for many of the hoverfly species which have aquatic larvae.
• Larvae nurseries: Log piles and even shrubs can make perfect homes for hoverfly larvae.

Anybody wanting to identify which hoverflies are visiting the garden and to find out more about how to help save them visit www.wildaboutgardens.org.uk