The hover fly belongs to a large family of small to large flies. They are true flies or Diptera, with only one pair of wings.
Hover flies have spots, bands or stripes of yellow and brown against a dark-coloured background, sometimes with dense hair covering the body surface.
Their fast flight, motionless flight, and in some species, their size are astonishing feats.
Some Hoverflies are among the biggest flies. Many species are very colourful. It is not always that easy to identify hover flies. Some thick-headed flies and bee flies are similar, and dark coloration makes it hard to identify them correctly at a glance. Bee flies tend to have longer hair.
Many are seen in the summer, mixing with butterflies, bees, bumblebees, and other flower-dependent insects. Male hovers tend to emerge and mature first, earlier in the season, to ensure reproduction is successful. Many species are useful to the gardener since their larvae eat pest aphids on garden plants and crops.
The degree to which they contribute to pollination is also, ironically, poorly investigated, but is no doubt important for vegetable gardens and fruit trees.