Margined Calligrapher

Toxomerus marginatus

What it is

Toxomerus marginatus, is a common species of hoverfly. It is found in many parts of North America.

Habitat: You can find Margined Calligraphers in gardens, meadows, fields, and woodlands across most of North America, including nearly all of the United States.
How to find it: Look for them hovering near flowers, especially composites like daisies or asters. Watch them 'hover' in mid-air like a tiny helicopter. Try to spot their short antennae and large eyes to tell them apart from bees.
Best time of day: Spring through fall, active during sunny daytime hours.

What it eats: Nectar and pollen from flowers as an adult; larvae eat aphids.
What eats it: Birds, spiders, predatory insects (if they aren't fooled).

This fly is a 'mimic'; it looks like a stinging bee to protect itself.
You can tell it's a fly, not a bee, because it has only two wings (bees have four).
Its larvae are tiny, slug-like creatures that eat garden pests.
They are also known as hoverflies or flower flies.
They perform an amazing 'hovering' flight, staying perfectly still in the air.
They help pollinate many of our favorite fruits and vegetables.

Margined Calligraphers are important pollinators, helping many plants. Their larvae also eat aphids, helping gardeners.