A Survey of Hoverfly (Family Syrphidae) Diversity and Abundance in North Georgia

Hoverflies or flower flies (Family Syrphidae) are a useful group of pollinating insects that have often been overlooked due to the importance of bees as pollinators.  Hoverflies, which mimic bees in external anatomy (black and yellow color patterns), also mimic bees in behavior. A survey of Family Syrphidae was performed from March to August 2014 at four large apple orchards in North Georgia (6-8 collections per site).  A total of 346 hoverflies were collected.  Pan traps and malaise traps were used to sample the hoverflies.  At each site, 13 sets of pan traps (each set contained 1 UV yellow, 1 UV blue, and 1 white pan) and 1 malaise trap were used to sample hoverflies. The malaise traps collected 237(68%) hoverflies, while the pan traps collected 109 (32%) hoverflies.  Significant yellow color preference was detected. Yellow pan traps collected 95 (87%) hoverflies compared to only 3 (3%) hoverflies in the blue pan traps and 11 (10%) in the white pan traps.  Researchers estimate most states have between 100-200 species of hoverflies. A current species list does not exist in Georgia.  In our initial survey in North Georgia, we have identified over 40 different hoverfly species.