|
Sat, Jun 30, 12 at 9:25
| I have several large fennel plants growing in my front flower bed that I keep purely for the swallowtail cats to munch on. This year I haven't had too many cats so the plants have grown tall and are in full bloom. This is fine since I think they add nice texture change from the rest of the plants and the flowers are quite pretty. They also attract a lot of different types of pollinating insects. Most of the bugs are some type of wasp or bee but I do see quite a few that look like black and white flies. They're not causing any problems, I'm just curious as to what they are.
Kara |
Follow-Up Postings:
|
| Here's a close up of one even though the picture is rather blurry. It was crawling around on the sidewalk drinking up rain water. |
|
| Maybe a orchid bee hard to tell from photo. DENNIS |
|
| What a pretty little insect! It's amazing what you see when you look closely enough. |
|
| I hope I'm wrong, but it almost looks like it could be some type of fruit fly. In which case they are bad dudes. Www.whatsthatbug.com may be able to identify it for you since your pictures are quite clear. |
|
- Posted by carolb_w_fl 9/10 coastal (My Page) on Sun, Jul 1, 12 at 12:21
| Looks like more than 1 kind of insect nectaring on those fennel blooms, I think I spy a teeny paper wasp on the far left &...hover/syrphid flies? I know they like to lay their eggs on my fennel & dill - the larvae feed on the aphids that tend to cover the flower heads |
Here is a link that might be useful: Featured Creatures
|
| Thanks for the links. I'll try both sites to see if they can id this bug. Hopefully it does turn out to be harmless. Kara |
|
| That's a bee fly (family Bombyliidae), looks like Chrysanthrax cypris. A harmless/beneficial pollinator. |
|
| Thank you, saccharum! I looked up the bee fly on the net and that's exactly what it is! Kara |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Florida Gardening Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.