Hoverflies can't be bought. The way to get more in the garden is to create the right conditions, and here's how.
What does it look like?
Hoverflies are true flies, in the order Diptera and family Syrphidae; more than 280 of Britain's 6,000-plus fly species are hoverflies. They range from a few millimetres to 2cm long and have only one pair of wings, unlike bees and wasps, which have two. Many mimic wasps or bumblebees, with black-and-yellow stripes and bands, but hoverflies don't bite or sting. Larvae are legless maggots with no obvious head; some, including drone flies, grow a long breathing tube at the rear, earning them the name 'rat-tailed maggot.' The one pictured here, the marmalade hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus), orange with alternating thick and thin black bands, is Britain's commonest and most familiar species, and the one most likely to turn up on a Scottish flower.
Life cycle
Females lay eggs singly or in small batches close to a food source for the larvae to find. Larvae pass through three stages, shedding their skin each time, before pupating in a pear-shaped pupa that ranges from whitish-brown to green. Depending on the species, adults either overwinter or live for only a few days.
Hoverflies do double duty: eating your aphids and pollinating your crops at the same time.
As a predator: RHS names hoverflies among aphid predators. Garden Organic separately recommends attracting them via diverse flowering plants.
As a pollinator: NatureScot treats hoverflies as key pollinators alongside bees, noting over 250 species in Britain and dedicating a leaflet to wasps and hoverflies.
How to encourage it
Pollinators need flowers producing lots of nectar for energy and pollen for protein. The key time for a garden to be in bloom for them is between March and October.
Hoverfly larvae have several different food sources depending on the species, and habitat can matter as much as planting: a log pile supports wood-feeding larvae, and a shallow water feature (a 'hoverfly lagoon') supports species whose larvae develop in water or wet debris. Tolerating some aphids on a few plants, rather than removing every one, also gives predatory larvae something to eat.
Avoid using insecticides where hoverflies are wanted; they don't discriminate between the aphids being targeted and the hoverflies (and other predators) that would otherwise deal with them.
Plant these near the crops that need help:
- Alyssum: grown near a crop, its nectar and pollen attract aphid predators including hoverflies.
- Phacelia (fiddleneck): lavender-blue summer flowers with pollen held on long filaments that's easy for hoverflies to reach; also usable as a green manure if dug in rather than left to flower.
- Ivy: flowers late, in autumn, when little else is in bloom, giving hoverflies a nectar source once most other flowers are over.
Alyssum is only reliably hardy in mild, sheltered parts of Scotland, so sow it in spring once frost risk has passed. Phacelia is hardier and can be sown in situ in spring or early autumn. Ivy is planted rather than grown from seed for this purpose, and its main value is timing rather than quantity: it flowers later than most garden plants, extending the nectar season into autumn.
Why this matters in Scotland
The marmalade hoverfly, the species pictured on this page, has 7,701 recorded sightings on NBN Atlas Scotland, the national biodiversity records database, as of 2026-08-04.
That's a genuinely well-established, everyday garden presence, not a rare or occasional visitor, and it fits with Wildlife Trusts' own note that the species is active in Britain right through the year, not just at the summer peak.
What it helps control
Whitefly, leafhoppers and scale insects are also on the menu for hoverfly larvae, not just aphids; about 40% of Britain's hoverfly species prey on aphids specifically. Other larvae feed on rotting wood or pond debris rather than on insects at all, which is why habitat, not just planting, matters for encouraging the group as a whole.
Myths about hoverflies
5 common claims about hoverflies, checked: 4 busted0 disputed0 untested1 hold up
“Hoverflies can sting or bite because they look like wasps and bees”
Hoverflies have no sting at all, and don't bite. The yellow-and-black banding that makes them look like a wasp or bee is mimicry for self-defence against birds and other predators, not a warning about a weapon they actually carry. Around 280 of Britain's hoverfly species show some version of this wasp or bee lookalike pattern.
Our read The mimicry is so convincing that people swat or spray hoverflies on sight, which removes a pest predator and a pollinator for nothing: there's no sting behind the costume.
What to do: Let hoverflies be. If you need to tell them apart from a wasp in a hurry, look at the wings: a hoverfly has one pair, a wasp has two.
1 source
- RHS: HoverfliesHoverflies do not bite or sting, despite many species mimicking the black-and-yellow banding of wasps and bees.
“Adult hoverflies, not just their larvae, eat aphids in the garden”
Adult hoverflies feed on nectar and pollen, not aphids, using mouthparts adapted for dabbing at open flowers. It's the larval stage that does the pest control: around 40% of Britain's hoverfly species have larvae that hunt aphids, ranking them alongside ladybirds for how much they reduce aphid numbers, and the same larvae also take other sap-suckers such as whitefly and leafhoppers.
Our read The confusion is understandable because the adult is the life stage people actually notice hovering over a flower bed. The pest control is happening lower down and earlier, from a small, often overlooked maggot-like larva living among the aphid colony itself.
What to do: Don't judge an infested plant by whether adult hoverflies are visiting it. Check the stems for hoverfly larvae before reaching for a spray, since they may already be working through the aphids.
1 source
- RHS: HoverfliesAdult hoverflies feed on nectar, while roughly 40% of British hoverfly species have larvae that prey on aphids and other sap-sucking insects, making them as important as ladybirds for aphid control.
“Hoverflies are only useful for eating aphids, not for pollination”
Hoverflies rank as the second most important pollinator group after bees, visiting over half of food crops worldwide and more than 70% of animal-pollinated wild plants. Hoverfly distribution in the UK also fell 44% between 1980 and 2022, so the pollination role is both substantial and under pressure.
Our read This makes hoverflies unusual among garden helpers: the same planting decision that draws them in for aphid control is also doing real pollination work, rather than the two roles requiring separate plants.
What to do: Treat hoverfly-friendly planting as pollinator planting too. A bed built around flat, open flowers for hoverflies is also feeding a second, declining pollinator group alongside bees.
1 source
- RHS: Plants for HoverfliesCiting a government report, hoverflies are the second most important pollinators after bees, visiting over 50% of food crops worldwide and over 70% of animal-pollinated wild plants; UK hoverfly distribution declined 44% from 1980 to 2022.
“Clearing every aphid off a plant helps hoverflies do their job”
Tolerating aphids on some plants helps because hoverfly larvae need a live aphid colony to feed on. Removing every aphid on sight, whether by hand or spray, takes away the larval food source that keeps the predator population going from one generation to the next.
What to do: Pick one or two sacrificial plants, or a patch you're less fussy about, and leave the aphids there for hoverfly larvae to work through, while removing aphids by hand on plants where you can't tolerate any damage.
1 source
- RHS: HoverfliesAdvises tolerating aphids on some plants, since hoverfly larvae rely on live aphid colonies as their food source.
“Some flowers attract hoverflies far more effectively than others”
Hoverflies favour flat, open flowers where nectar and pollen sit on an accessible surface, since their mouthparts dab rather than probe. Guelder rose, blackberry, phacelia, heather and ivy are particularly effective, spanning spring through late autumn so hoverflies have forage across the whole season rather than a single summer peak.
What to do: Plant for the full season rather than one big summer display: guelder rose or blackberry for spring and early summer, phacelia and heather through summer into autumn, and ivy left to flower for the late-season gap when little else is blooming.
2 sources
- RHS: Plants for HoverfliesGuelder rose, blackberry, phacelia, heather and ivy are named as top plants for hoverflies because their flat, open flowers hold nectar and pollen on an accessible surface.
- Garden Organic: Companion or mixed plantingDiverse flowering plants grown alongside crops support beneficial insects including hoverflies as part of an ecosystem-based approach to pest management.
Frequently asked questions
Can I buy hoverflies?
Not usefully: hoverflies released into a garden with nothing to hold them there simply leave. Creating the right habitat and food source is what actually keeps a population around; see "How to encourage it" above.
How do I know if hoverflies are actually helping?
Watch the pest population, not the predator count: fewer aphids, glasshouse whitefly over a few weeks is the real sign, not how many hoverflies you can spot on a given day.
Do hoverflies only deal with the pests listed above?
No, also scale insects and leafhoppers, among other sap-sucking prey. The list above is what they're best known for, not the full extent of what they take.
When will I actually see hoverflies in the garden?
It depends on the stage in their life cycle — see "Life cycle" above for when they're active and what to expect through the year.
Sources
10 sources, recorded with what each was used for
- RHS: For Aphids: RHS names hoverflies among aphid predators.
- RHS: For Glasshouse Whitefly: RHS's dedicated hoverflies page: about 40% of Britain's hoverfly species prey on aphids as larvae, and larvae can also prey on other sap-sucking garden insects including whitefly, leafhoppers and scale insects. RHS's dedicated hoverflies page: identification (order Diptera, family Syrphidae, over 280 of Britain's 6,000+ fly species, size range, one pair of wings, wasp/bee mimicry, larva appearance), life cycle (eggs, three larval stages, pupa, variable overwintering), diet, and encouragement advice (plant list, avoiding insecticides, log piles and a 'hoverfly lagoon' for water-dependent larvae).
- Garden Organic: supports attracting hoverflies via diverse flowering plants as an evidence-based ecosystem approach
- NatureScot: NatureScot treats hoverflies as pollinators; over 250 species in Britain
- RHS: Alyssum's nectar and pollen attract predators of aphids.
- RHS: RHS's 'top plants for hoverflies' page: ivy's late, nectar-rich autumn flowers, and the 2022 finding that UK hoverfly distribution has declined 44% since 1980, with some species now on the IUCN Red List.
- RHS: Phacelia tanacetifolia is propagated by sowing seed in situ in spring or early autumn, and is rated H4: hardy through most of the UK, down to -10 to -5°C.
- RHS: Alyssum (Lobularia maritima) is propagated by sowing seed in situ in spring, and is rated H3: hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK, not reliably hardy everywhere.
- Wildlife Trusts: The marmalade hoverfly is Britain's most common and familiar hoverfly species, identified by its orange body with thick and thin black bands, and active in Britain right through the year.
- NBN Atlas Scotland: NBN Atlas Scotland's marmalade hoverfly species page recorded 7,701 sightings in Scotland as of 2026-08-04.