if I could achieve one thing with my blog it would be to inspire people to enjoy their surroundings as much as possible. This is a great time of year for hoverfly and when the sun is out in my garden there are lots of hoverflies to see. Lavateria are big blossoms and attract hoverflies like a magnet. I really enjoyed watching them and today among the 4 or 5 different species, two Hornet imitators, a male and a female Serrycomyia silentis were in the garden. If you haven’t seen this species before then have a really good look for them this week because they are magnificent, as good as any bird. They are large and brightly coloured, twice the size of a wasp. They are totally harmless, they don’t sting or bite and do not carry any disease. They feed on pollen and pollinate flowers and vegetables so are very useful. If you use insecticide in the garden then you are going to kill them and why would you want to do that? Eventually greenfly are going to be controlled by the larvae of the Hovers, but if you use insecticide it is going to kill indiscriminately the good and the bad!