How Hoverflies Spawn Maggots that Sweeten Your Oranges | Deep Look
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- Опубліковано 10 лют 2025
- Oblique streaktail hoverflies zip from bloom to bloom wearing a wasp costume to avoid getting eaten. But it’s all for show - they don’t even have stingers! Their fierce maggots, on the other hand, devour hundreds of insect pests. As they gorge, they help keep orange trees safe from disease.
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Entomologist Nic Irvin, at the University of California, Riverside, has found that the maggots of oblique streaktail hoverflies eat more than 400 Asian citrus psyllids in the week before they transform into pupae.
Orange growers despise Asian citrus psyllids, which spread a destructive bacterium when they feed on the sap of citrus trees.
The bacterium, Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, causes a disease known as citrus greening or huanglongbing. Infected citrus trees make green, bitter fruit and eventually die.
Irvin has planted alyssum, a plant with fragrant white flowers, in orange groves near Riverside. The alyssum attracts adult oblique streaktail hoverflies that feed on its pollen and then lay their eggs on orange trees under attack by Asian citrus psyllids. When hoverfly maggots hatch out of the eggs, they devour the psyllids. In one experiment, Irvin found that having alyssum near orange trees reduced by 10% the number of Asian citrus psyllids on them.
--- Are hoverflies good for the garden?
Yes, hoverflies help backyard gardeners too. They pollinate flowering plants. And their maggots feed on aphids, a common pest of vegetables.
--- How do hoverflies fly?
Hoverflies fly like tiny helicopters - they can hover, fly straight up and down and backward and turn in almost every direction, said Karin Nordström, who studies hoverflies at Flinders University in Australia.
“Seeing them come in and land on a flower, it’s really beautiful,” she said, “because it’s such a controlled landing.”
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#hoverflies #asiancitruspsyllids #deeplook
as someone in so cal growing native milkweed and raising monarchs, THESE GUYS ARE A GRACE FROM GOD!!!! my plants get INFESTED with aphids and these little hoverflies lay their eggs and their babies eat them right up!!! they dont even attack my monarch caterpillars they are literally the best AND help pollinate my flowers too for more milkweed seeds!
Oh so cal? Ur one of those kinds of people then
@@PointSouthAndSeeI’m from SoCal and not everyone is from LA and talks like that. I’m in SoCal in the mountains where it snows.
Also hoverflies can be friendly, just put out your finger and it might land on it
@@PointSouthAndSee you are such a sad sack. I hope you get over your terminal need to make yourself feel like you're better than everyone else. 😂
jesus incarnate fr!!
Hoverflies are such a fascinating insect family! I feel like a lot of people still mistake them for bees/wasps these days or don't even know about them in the first place.
And so many sizes, colors and shapes!
Didn't knew about them!
:D
The Hover flies appreciate the misidentification lol
You're right. As soon as I saw this video, I realized that the some of the bees I've been seeing aren't really bees
There are many orange trees where I live (Spain) and I don't know now it it's bees or hoverflies D:
Wow that's so amazing, I didn't knew those tiny little hoverflies are the one protecting the sweet and sour oranges I love to eat in winter 😋🥰.
Yes they are!
There are many "check and balances" Spiders eat flies/other bugs etc.
@@videodude4 That's rude. Don't the spiders know that other bugs have hopes and dreams too?
@@dl1083 Spiders are not like humans.
circle of life
Love these guys. They're intensely curious. Had a group of them as my little campmates on a trip a few years back, and they were just fascinated by anything, and everything I was doing. Made my day, every day to have them greet me every morning.
when i was "helping" my dad and grandpa haul scrapstuff, a bunch of hoverflies kept flying up to and on me, theyre so cute!!
I’ve noticed that bugs and arthropods that rely on their sight are intensely curious once they realize you’re not dangerous. Jumping spiders for example just look at you with those big puppy dog eyes of them.
Still seeing your comments everywhere. Lol.
I find it especially neat how they even mimic the abdominal movements of wasps and bees to sell that disguise all the better.
I think they're adorable, honestly. If you're peaceful around them, they'll chill on your hand. Just hold it out. You can feed them sweet things. They're harmless little buddies. I think it's funny how they fly into peoples faces, it's like they're trying to scare us, but it's pretty obvious they aren't wasps with their flying method.
Very cool!
I love the focus on insects recently- and I particularly appreciate the light y’all portray them in. They’re such incredible animals and deserve more attention
In my experience these flies are also much smarter compared to houseflies. While the houseflies were stopped by the screen of the window stiles (the windows that open up-and-down) one hoverfly either knew that the screen would block it and know there is a space in between the window stiles for it to go through. It did exactly what its called, it hovered up the gap where the screen blocked it and inside my room. It all happened in a few seconds. It crawled on the glass to get out however, I think it has done this before.
Amazing!
0:34 that's so cool that each hoverflies species have their own little theme
Little works of art!
Absolutely love these little guys! I've always loved just sitting in the garden watching their enchanting little dancing flights, snapping between random coordinates like a broken path in a video game, then holding dead still without a sound before darting to the next spot. Since moving to a city apartment, the first thing I did was set up bunches of pots full of Alyssum and other small white flowers like Chamomile, Erigeron and Gypsophila with the sole purpose of attracting them to my balcony and much to my delight, it works like a charm. Queen Anne's Lace (basically fancy carrot flowers) and other Apiaceae family members also work a charm to get the Hoverflies dancing in your garden. The balcony might be small but there's almost always one staking out some turf on my tiny flower garden and it makes me very happy.
Here in Adelaide, the two most common species (and almost identical in appearance) are the Common Hoverfly/Common Halfband (Melangyna viridiceps) and the Yellow-Shouldered Stout Hoverfly (Simosyrphus grandicornis) with the former having been the main species back in my old garden in Tasmania.
These are absolutely amazing little insects, they’re babies are used as forms of natural pest control in plants. Loved seeing these guys or their babies walking around on my flowers
Wow, this is so neat! I’ve seen hover flies around but aside from knowing they weren’t about to sting me, not much else. The maggots kind of remind me of ladybugs attacking other insects that are eating a plant we want to keep healthy. Cool security force too!
You have no idea how long I have been waiting for you to do a video on hoverflies. The world needs to know about these.
We agree, Sammy!
Only last saturday I found these and didn't know what they were. I was at our community garden and noticed these curious little insects, head and wings of flies, but bee-colored. Good to know what they are and what they do. I hope they take care of our fruiting trees as well.
How crazy is nature?! Thanks DeepLook and the camera crew for these incredible shots 👏
Entomology is a fascinating world. Deserves our deeper looking.
I'm so used to thinking of maggots as carrion eaters, glad to know some are arboreal climbers that make their own fresh carrion!
I was always fascinated by hoverflies , so many different colors and patterns that make each sub-species look like a completely unrelated insect , not to mention they got some incredible flight skills
This has got to be one of the coolest insects ever.
Wow, I had NO idea hoverflies had predatory larvae. That's nuts. They're one of my favorite insects.
Then you will LOVE tomorrow’s episode.
I do a little bit of gardening and I love the hoverflies that come by. The larva of the flies also eat alot of other pests so hoverflies are really helpful to the plants
Nice one! I love these little mimics. when the flower flies stomachs are empty their bodies are extremely flat, but full of nectar it swells up like a balloon.
Very cool observation - will be looking for that.
@@KQEDDeepLook fax
they are insanely cool to watch from a distance, they look frozen in time just suspended in the air because of how perfectly they can hover
For over 3 decades I thought they were tiny bees. How refreshing it is to know what they truly are.
Love this content! I can never get enough of Deep Look! 😊✨
Glad you enjoy it Joey Joe!
So let me get this straight, a pollinator that eats aphids and even push argentine ants away ?? This is the greatest species !
So hyped to see a video on one of my favorite insect families! I LOVE syrphids!
Always liked these flies, I liked how cool they flew around the flower bushes. Some even land on you and stare
3:13 nearly gave me a heart attack. These creatures are absolutely fascinating.
Yay, Laura's back!
Her voice makes watching any creepy crawlies awesome.
I always love a good hero story! Nature is so unbelievably great! There is so much going on right under our busy little noses. That why we need you Deep Look. How would I ever know that there was a hero fly out there?!?
Thanks Tracy!
Insects always disgust me
But deep look have changed my perspective on these amazing creatures
Thnks DL
Yay! This comment makes our morning. :-) You are welcome. #inspo
Excellent content, as always. I, selfishly, wish these videos were longer. They suck me in to get me interested in the subject and then the video is done. I can imagine that videos this detailed take a lot of effort to film, but they are always so interesting that I don’t want them to end so quickly.
Definitely just wanted to get to see more closeups of them eating lol, that was really wild. The vid itself wasn't too short, just the action was. I think that's what you're feeling. A big buildup for a small release lol.
Agree I love watching the high quality close up video of the myriad of fascinating insect behaviour that while occurring all around us, remains mainly hidden.
I love getting notified in the morning about a new video. Gives me something nice to watch right before work. Thank you
Glad to hear it Brandon!
The music was sooooo good in this
Pollinator AND pest control. What a rockin fly
I love how the ecosystem works!
Thank you Deep Look team for letting us know!
Love your content!! I love holding my hand out for them to land on my children also like to do that. Keep up the great work!
Awesome! Thank you!
I always thought these guys were cute and enjoyed them landing on me, but I never knew they were so helpful. They not only took on the pollinator "look" with the bee stripes, they really are pollinators AND plant defenders. I'd love to see them be an inspiration for an anime character with the whole 'cute but lethal' persona going on.
Their camouflaje really works i remember saying as a kid "look, a baby wasp!"
Love this! More videos about the positive impact of insects please.
I love when they show up in my garden! Very curious little things that will check you out before landing in your hand to rest :)
I love this! We had learned about how impactful citrus greening and the psyllids that spread it in my plant pathology class this semester. Love seeing a biological control to this devastating pathogen
I want one as a friend 😭❤️ always loved them and how curious they are!
Grow allyssium. Grow a lot. They'll come.
Don't wear deodorants and fragrances except vanilla. BOOM! You're popular!
I've seen them on sunflowers too. They don't smell like vanilla though .. but if you do they'll fly to you.
Choose your friends wisely and good luck. Make lots of friends.
I don’t feel safe around those things I got stung once
@@samhero1199 they don't have stingers, you probaby mistook a bee or a wasp for a hoverfly.
the hoverflys look soooo cute! and i never know that hoverflys protect and sweeten the tast of oranges❤ im a new sub
I love this channel so much
This channel is always so interesting. Learning about insects always fascinates me.
Never cease surprising the viewers is deeplook. Bizarre, somehow an eerie world of bugs' war looks like a horror movie. Very intriguing content as usual. Poops looked tasty, rather beautiful in appearance. Soldier ant cut no ice on a larva in a rescue mission. This is unexpected. A contract breached. Thanks for the post.
By the way, was it you, Laura?
i see them everywhere yet i never wondered what their lifecycle was like, this is amazing
This channel is AMAZING!
Fascinating! It's not often you see murderous, predatory maggots. More often we're used to the decomposer maggots or the leaf-eating caterpillars :o
They’re so fun to watch. It’s like you can see their little brains working when they fly around
That narrator be precious. The voice, the speech rhythm, the trained inflection, way too good, must protect. For the swarm!
oh no way, one of the good narrators is back! tysm for finally responding to feedback :)
The maggot ripping it's prey off the plant at 3:34 is like a horror film monster
This video actually really encouraged me.Because I live in Florida and we have been having this problem with our crops.I really hope our crop growers are aware of this❤
They look so unassuming it’s amazing to see taking a closer look just how much this insect does for in habitat I love your videos thank you❤
You’re welcome!
Amazing ! I love these agriculture / insect symbiosis videos !
Could there be a deep look episode on figs and fig wasps ? It would be cool to see the whole lifecycle ❤
Never knew the larva of these harmless insect could even deal with the notorious Argentine ants. Nature truly is full of surprises!!!
It flies so cute🤩
I am extremely grateful for these little hoverflies because I love oranges
theyare so cool! they kept looking at me kind of flew around me and then flew away, they are so curious. i think they are quite cool after watching this video. also i thoght that they were wasps. they are quite smart and also are so good at hovering. at first i thought they were annoying wasps but i changed my mind after this video. Thanks deep look!
Never knew these are so useful, but are they dependent on just one kind of feed? Also very happy having Laura's perfect voice back.
What a fantastic nature based approach
My favorite narrator is back! Nice to hear from you again Laura! 🥰💕
I always marvel at the Hoverflies during summers in MN. I did not know their larvae was so important!
That 🦀 spider almost did that fly dirty
I actually gasped when the maggot caught the ant. Vicious little guys
I love hoverflies, there’s a whole bunch that always hang out around my house. They always land on me, which I find cute..
I love Hoverflies so much. We get them a lot in the summer and I let them land on me. They just sit there and vibe before flying off!
I did not know these amazing hoverflies that sweeten my orange, amazing and interesting insect, there so cute, amazing video Deep.
I've seen them in dense populations drinking from flowers and they were so loud! Literally thought they were bees for a sec
Gotta love the relentless appetite
Wow, so hoverflies protect the oranges by putting the squeeze on the parasites.
Well I learned a juicy lesson today. 🍊
Don't can me for my dad jokes. 😂
Awesome video, Keep up the good work. 😎👍💯
Thank you to whoever made the 'poop' tag, and to whoever nodded in approval when they did it
Love hoverflies
I love the pattern on their abdomen! Like a mosaic on their backs!
Brilliant content. Thank you!
Wow! Laura is back! My favorite narrator
when i saw them flying sideways i instatly said "THERE SKY CRABS"
Ever flies are really interesting to me because they like to get all up in my business and I genuinely believe they’re curious about me I think they’re very curious creatures
I love Crab Spiders! Maybe we could get a video featuring them sometime.
Man, love your videos. They’re so well done. 👍🏻
Thanks FJ!
So cool to see someone working on adding more biological/cultural controls in the great wat against the acp and hlb! I bet alyssum blooming in a citrus grove would add wonderful notes to the citrus bloom scent too!
I've always liked hoverflies but I didn't know thier larval stage was so interesting
Omg he’s so cute! Look at his eyes, so fascinating!
Now you just need to make an episode on Lacewing Larvae and Ladybug Larvae and you got the Aphid destroyer Trio.
They are just like bees for me
So there are flies that are actually very nice.
Another great video - the cilids were really interesting
I love hoverflies, they’re by far one of my favorite species
Families*
The older I get the more fascinating insects become. Such a cool creature to exist.
I love when insect help us while helping them :)
Simply fascinating creatures, nature such a beautiful thing, Deeplook doea an amazing job capturing that 😊💯
I watched most of your videos and I’m learning so much about bugs! Like mosquito has 6 needles! And others😃
That's why our orange 🍊 tree only grows sour lime-like oranges
Some orange varieties are both sweet and sour on purpose, for culinary uses.
Hip hip hooray for the hoverflies
I always love seeing these little mimics On my flowers ❤
Hoverflies: one of the few useful class of flies that doesn't land on your picnic or bite you
their maggot also eats aphids, lovely to see them in the garden