One of my great pleasures this summer has been sorting through the various insects in the estate gardens around where I live. I was really pleased with this one I found a couple of weeks ago.
Sun Fly (Helophilus pendulus) is an attractive fly which is common and widespread but very attractive to look at. Its range exists from Iceland to the Mediterranean and from Britain to Asia.
Its common name Sun Fly is a misinterpretation of its Latin/Greek name. Helo means ‘Marsh’ as opposed to Helio which means ‘Sun’. The scientific name would translate as ‘marsh-loving dangler’ so perhaps Sun Fly is a nicer name. I was interested to find on the internet that it has also been called the Footballer Fly due to its ‘stripped shirt’.
Like many insects, it seeks to look like a bee or a wasp as a protection against being predated.
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