A bee, or not a bee, that is the question (but seriously, what are these "bees")
Aug 21, 2023 09:49AM ● By Content Editor
Photo: Laura Durenberger-Grunow
By Laura Durenberger-Grunow - Boreal Community Media - August 21, 2023
Salt bees. Sweat bees. Sweet bees.
You may have heard of these "bees" before, and if you're in NE Minnesota right now, you'll probably have one around whenever you go outside.
Turns out, these are not actually bees.
They're hover flies, also known as syrphid flies, and they're harmless.
Hover flies are beneficial pollinators, mimicking bees and wasps in color and shape as a form of protection. They do not have a stinger and aren't harmful to humans.
And those of us in Cook County and elsewhere in northern Minnesota are enjoying a freshly hatched batch.
Hover flies play an important role in not only pollination but also in the fight against aphids. According to the U of M extension, a single larve can eat dozens of aphids in a day in the spring and late summer/fall (totaling up to 100-400 aphids during this phase of their lifecycle).
Larve and pupae overwinter in leaf piles or brush, emerging again in the spring.
So, how do you know if you're dealing with a hover fly or a bee/wasp? Hover flies have only one set of wings, while bees and wasps have two sets of wings.
For more information on hover or syrphid flies, or to find out how to encourage them into your garden, check out the University of Minnesota extension page here.
Editor's note: this post was originally published on September 2, 2022, but has been recently updated.
By Laura Durenberger-Grunow - Boreal Community Media - August 21, 2023
Salt bees. Sweat bees. Sweet bees.
You may have heard of these "bees" before, and if you're in NE Minnesota right now, you'll probably have one around whenever you go outside.
Turns out, these are not actually bees.
They're hover flies, also known as syrphid flies, and they're harmless.
Hover flies are beneficial pollinators, mimicking bees and wasps in color and shape as a form of protection. They do not have a stinger and aren't harmful to humans.
And those of us in Cook County and elsewhere in northern Minnesota are enjoying a freshly hatched batch.
Hover flies play an important role in not only pollination but also in the fight against aphids. According to the U of M extension, a single larve can eat dozens of aphids in a day in the spring and late summer/fall (totaling up to 100-400 aphids during this phase of their lifecycle).
Larve and pupae overwinter in leaf piles or brush, emerging again in the spring.
So, how do you know if you're dealing with a hover fly or a bee/wasp? Hover flies have only one set of wings, while bees and wasps have two sets of wings.
For more information on hover or syrphid flies, or to find out how to encourage them into your garden, check out the University of Minnesota extension page here.
Editor's note: this post was originally published on September 2, 2022, but has been recently updated.
