Hoverflies, also known as droneflies, belong to the Insect Order Diptera characterised by one pair of wings (di: two; pteron: wing) and one pair of tiny wings known as halteres. The halteres are modified hindwings which have flight mechanosensory functions and stabilise flight events. Many of them hover around flowers and feed on pollens or nectar. They are good mimics of wasps and bees.
These flies have been known to pollinate orchids like Epipactis veratrifolia and slipper orchids. Their larvae, known as maggots, may be terrestrial and perform pest control of aphids or feed on decaying plant matter; or aquatic e.g. rat-tailed maggots found in water bodies polluted with organic matter like sewage. Larvae of Microdon are adapted to live in ant nests and feed on ant larvae, their faecal pellets and pupae.
Soh Kam Yung shares his photographs of these flies, Monoceromyia javana, taken at Lim Chu Kang and Chestnut Nature Park.
Image 1: Lim Chu Kang. 25 December 2020Image 2: Lim Chu Kang. 25 December 2020Image 3: Lim Chu Kang. 25 December 2020Image 4: Lim Chu Kang. 25 December 2020
‘Monoceromyia javana, a Drone Fly (subfamily Eristalinae) spotted in Singapore (Kranji Marshes) on 25 Dec. 2020. Soh Kam Yung thought it was a wasp at first until he took a closer look and realized what it was. Good mimicry.’
Image 5: Chestnut Nature Park. 11 October 2021Image 6: Chestnut Nature Park. 11 October 2021Image 7: Chestnut Nature Park. 11 October 2021Image 8: Chestnut Nature Park. 11 October 2021
In Soh Kam Yung’s inaturalist account he writes:
Happy to spot this Monoceromyia javana at Chestnut Nature Park on 11 Oct 2021. It looks like a wasp from a distance, but it’s really a Hover fly, and a good wasp-looking mimic.
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