Conducting summer camps at the South Carolina Botanical Garden affords much more time to explore the grounds and make new discoveries alongside the young participants. On the Tuesday of our first camp, Garden Discovery, we were fortunate enough to have the entomological expertise of Mike Ferro, collection manager of Clemson University’s Arthropod Collection. At one point after lunch, Mike became very excited at a large insect flying around. Once he caught it, we were able to examine it more carefully. We discovered that it was a large fly (about an inch and a half long) covered in pollen. I learned that, despite looking like a large wasp, this was, in fact, a mydas fly. By mimicking the appearance an insect that can offer a hearty sting, this fly gained a level of protection from predators (this is known as Batesian mimicry). According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, one of the adult’s preferred food is nectar and pollen from rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium) which we have in abundance in the Susan K. Barr Pollinator Garden. We often overlook flies as pollinators, but this specimen shows how much pollen one single fly can transport.
Mydas species, a large fly (about an inch and a half long) covered in pollen.
Sue Watts, ©2024, SC Botanical Gardens, Clemson University
For more information, see UFL Beneficial Garden Bugs: The Good Flies.
