September 25, 2026
Yesterday I was out checking on a patch of Goldenrod (Solidago), to see what pollinators were out there. One of the things I found, several Broad-banded Hoverflies (Epistrophe grossulariae). This one, sitting on a Goldenrod leaf. There were also several others, but this is the only one that obliged me with a still moment.
Though they look quite a bit like a bee, they have no stinger, and can’t bite or hurt us. They have one pair of wings, while bees have two pair, one pair large and one pair small. Their eyes are another obvious difference, with their eyes taking up a large portion of their heads, often meeting in the middle. Bees eyes are smaller in relation to their heads and are set on either side. Hoverflies have a set of antennae that are very short. Bees have longer, often bent antennae.
They’re cute little insects with a length of about 0.39 to 0.47 inches.
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