I have hundreds of a gold... - Ask Extension
I have hundreds of a golden body flies on a low yellow border flowers. Read that the male is a pollenator, which it is doing. BUT the word flies is c...
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I have hundreds of a gold... #195060
Asked June 28, 2014, 11:53 AM EDT
I have hundreds of a golden body flies on a low yellow border flowers. Read that the male is a pollenator, which it is doing. BUT the word flies is causing me concern, should I use an insect spray to control them or just let them be?
Anoka County Minnesota
Expert Response
We haven't heard of a golden body fly, but some kinds of flies do feed on pollen. Of these, various species of hover flies are common. Do the flies resemble the one seen in this photo:
https://durhammastergardeners.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/syrphidclose.jpg
If so, they are harmless and beneficial. Larvae of some hover fly species feed on aphids.
If you are seeing a different kind of fly, please reply to this message and attach a sharp closeup photo of the insect.
https://durhammastergardeners.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/syrphidclose.jpg
If so, they are harmless and beneficial. Larvae of some hover fly species feed on aphids.
If you are seeing a different kind of fly, please reply to this message and attach a sharp closeup photo of the insect.
Looks like normal fly but it's body very golden. My neighbor commented on it also, she had never seen a fly that color. Unless the fly is reflecting the gold color from flower.
The flies in the photo might be green bottle flies (Lucilia sericata) or a closely related species.
Compare here:
http://www.pbase.com/tmurray74/image/142985763
http://www.fnanaturesearch.org/index.php?option=com_naturesearch&task=view&id=1062
The adult flies sometimes feed on nectar, but they and their larvae also subsist on carrion, excrement, etc. Sanitation is the best way to control them.
Learn more here:
Summer Filth Flies
http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/insects/find/summer-filth-flies/
Compare here:
http://www.pbase.com/tmurray74/image/142985763
http://www.fnanaturesearch.org/index.php?option=com_naturesearch&task=view&id=1062
The adult flies sometimes feed on nectar, but they and their larvae also subsist on carrion, excrement, etc. Sanitation is the best way to control them.
Learn more here:
Summer Filth Flies
http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/insects/find/summer-filth-flies/