Crossword clues for hoverfly
Wiktionary
n. Any of various fly from the family (l mul Syrphidae) that hover in the air and feed on the nectar of flowers.
Wikipedia
Hoverflies, sometimes called flower flies, or syrphid flies, make up the insect family Syrphidae. As their common name suggests, they are often seen hovering or nectaring at flowers; the adults of many species feed mainly on nectar and pollen, while the larvae ( maggots) eat a wide range of foods. In some species, the larvae are saprotrophs, eating decaying plant and animal matter in the soil or in ponds and streams. In other species, the larvae are insectivores and prey on aphids, thrips, and other plant-sucking insects.
Aphids alone cause tens of millions of dollars of damage to crops worldwide every year; because of this, aphid-eating hoverflies are being recognized as important natural enemies of pests, and potential agents for use in biological control. Some adult syrphid flies are important pollinators.
About 6,000 species in 200 genera have been described. Hoverflies are common throughout the world and can be found on all continents except Antarctica. Hoverflies are harmless to most other animals, despite their mimicry of more dangerous wasps and bees, which wards off predators.
Usage examples of "hoverfly".
Is that brown worm on your rosebuds really a threat to the perfect flower you hoped to get, or is it a hoverfly larva hunting down the rose aphids alighting from the sky?
The MegaMall owned the casters, and until the MegaMall decided that discretion was unnecessary, the casters would keep their hoverflies on a tight rein.
There were mechanical eyes set to follow her, of course, mounted on hoverflies and flitterbugs-but as soon as they entered the water they were mopped up by a shoal of electronic fish.
There were beetles, gnats, hoverflies, tabanad flies, mosquitoes, wasps and bees.
Two hundred and eighteen metres, and Daniel had shot the swooping hoverfly straight through its compound eye.