Subject: Re: Goldenrod & Asters
From: kjeanh@aol.com (Kjeanh)
Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 98 18:39:21
Message-ID: <MOD$980914.12593@rec.gardens.ecosystems>
References: <MOD$980913.18776@rec.gardens.ecosystems>



>also what benifit does the tiny 'sweat bee' (heard them called that) do
>for the garden? looks almost like a mini honey bee. and do they sting?
Those are most likely syrphid flies (aka hover flies). They do not sting but
they are very important predators of aphids and other soft body insects. It is
not the adults that do the feeding, it is the larvae, which look like little
green caterpillars with two light stripes on their backs. They can be
identified as syrphid fly larvae by their very small heads (as compared to a
regualar caterpillar). If you see these little green larvae, watch them for a
bit to see if they eat aphids (maybe move them to an aphid colony). They are
fascinating to watch, and they are certainly voracious little critters.
Here are some sites that have pics of them:
http://www.west.net/~rhill56/bugs.html
http://www.ento.vt.edu/Fruitfiles/syrphid.html
http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/IPM/ento/j550dc.html

Happy Gardening!

Kelly
e-mail to orangerose@aoldotcom