Hoverfly carrying a leaf

Segilla | 19:55 Thu 04th Aug 2011 | Animals & Nature

8 Answers

A week ago in Gloucestershire on a sunny morning, I watched a hoverfly, (not quite the largest I've seen) carrying beneath it, a green leaf, resting, flying away and returning to rest. The leaf was about 3 times as wide as the insect and more than twice as long.
What was going on?

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atika

hi i am not 100% sure but i did read on a website that their larvae eats pest aphids on garden plants and crops so it could of been eating something on the leaf. I am not at all sure though this seems rather unusual

gen2

Not a hoverfly.
Was it only part of a leaf cut into a circle or oval shape?
If so, you have seen a leaf-cutter bee

heathfield

Agree with Gen. Two of my roses are being got at by them.

Segilla

Question Author

Thanks. The insect was definitely not a bee. The leaf was oval and elongated and oval.

rowanwitch

hoverflies don't cut leaves the only flying stripy thing that does as far as I am aqware is the leaf cutter bee as suggested above

Segilla

Question Author

I can only report what I saw - and the insect came back twice to settle on a wooden fence rail near where I was sitting. I wish I'd rushed in for my camera.

A few days ago a smaller and bold hoverfly was in the air about 10" from my my face and for a couple of minutes stayed in that relative position every time I moved my head. That's never happened before.

Any ideas where the leaf incident can be reported / discussed?

Sir Alec

Could you ask the Springwatch/Autumnwatch people. Even though the show is not on at the moment, their website carries on and will reply to questions.
I once saved a hoverfly from an old spider's web. It's buzzing became more and more frantic as I tried to pull bits of web from it's wings. After I dripped a drop of water on it, it calmed down, took it's time to clean the web off and then flew off, very grateful, I should imagine! I felt quite humble afterwards at this little insects bravery.

Segilla

Question Author

Further research and help from a Hoverfly site has revealed that some leaf cutter bees carry away leaf pieces which are not circular. The leaf I saw was serrated.

See photo near foot of

http://www.ext.colost...ubs/insect/05576.html

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