SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY

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FLIES

Syrphid or Hover Flies

Adult hover flies, with their striped abdomens, resemble wasps. They hover before flowers, buzzing loudly as they sip nectar, but unlike their look-alikes offer no threat of a sting. Green or tan, the worm-like larvae of these flies are gung-ho aphid eaters. A single larva can put away 1,000 aphids before changing into an adult. Adult female hover flies can contribute about 100 eggs each to your gardening effort. Besides aphids, any small, soft-bodied insects such as mealybugs, thrips, or leafhoppers may find themselves on the hover fly's menu.

These flies are also important as pollinators. They favor cosmos, coreopsis, gloriosa daisies, dwarf morningglories, marigolds, spearmint, baby-blue-eyes, and the herb meadowfoam. An assortment of these should draw some of the nearly 1,000 species of hover flies found throughout North America to your plot.

Robber Flies

A loud buzz, an acrobatic aerial swoop, and snap-another airborne pest knocked from the sky. Robber flies are up to 3/4" long, powerful, and ugly. These hairy-faced gray hunters take down a variety of flying insects, from beetles and butterflies to leafhoppers and grasshoppers, as well as a few unlucky beneficials. While adults are launching their winged attack, the white larvae are worming their way into the eggs and grubs of pests under the soil surface.

With many species found throughout North America (most east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada), a constant supply of flowering plants should keep a few at work in your garden.

A Tachnid fly resting on a
summer squash flower. They are
among the most important North
American pest-control parasite.

Tachinid Flies

The tachinid flies often resemble black houseflies, but are occasionally found in shades of yellow, red, or brown. These bristly little flies are often seen around leaves and flowers, where they feed on nectar or the honeydew secreted by certain insect pests. Nearly 1,300 different species exist throughout North America, and among them are probably the most important pest-control parasites.

The larvae of these flies invade and excavate the bodies of their hosts. Some are deposited as live maggots within the host's body by the moth fly; others are laid as eggs on foliage or on the body of the host. The larvae feed on many beetles, bugs, caterpillars, and grasshoppers. The list includes European corn borers, cutworms, armyworms, and Japanese and Mexican bean beetles. Adults are drawn to buckwheat — a small patch should ensure a welcome population of tachinid flies.

Green Lacewing

A delicate, fragile-looking, slender, green insect, the green lacewing feeding on pollen or nectar gives no clue as to the voracious appetite of its young, also known as aphid lions. But this hungry larva is one of the best garden predators in existence for aphids, spider mites, mealybugs, leafhoppers, thrips, or even corn earworm and other caterpillar eggs.

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