Hover fly whispering

Hover flies are not just loveable furry flyers that brighten up the garden, they are also pollinators so they are very welcome.

Here's a beefly pollinating my pear tree...

But, did you also know you can coax some hover flies down to land on your hand? (NB - not beeflies, though).

For the ones that do, they will sometimes land on the end of a pointed finger if you put it up in the air near them.

Here's one on my hand yesterday. It decided not to land on my finger.

I had my finger out, but it wasn't having it...

This was the first time I had got one to land all week. You end up standing about the garden looking slightly odd by standing still pointing into the air. Must look weird from a distance.

Here are some shots of near-misses where the flies came into check my finger out, but decided not to land...


Spot the flies...