#hover flies

[VIDEO TAKEN: APRIL 15TH, 2026 | Video ID: A video of a black and yellow, bumble bee mimicking hover fly, cleaning itself off while perched on a dirty barrel before promptly flying away /End ID.]

look at this fella!!! not a lot of hover flies where i live so it was cool to see them :))

hello my dears... it's not a bee! drone fly helps pollinate flowers

what looks like a worker bee from afar is in fact, a type of drone fly from the genus Graptomyza. drone flies fall under hover flies, flies which also pollinate flowers and hover in a similar fashion that certain bees do too, causing them to be frequently mistaken as bees

many hover flies also mimic bees or wasps to deter predators, and this one is no exception. the larval form of hover flies is also well known for being rat-tailed maggots, these large tadpole looking things that sometimes appear in peoples toilets and scare the crap outta them

Toxomeres geminatus, a lovely little hoverfly bee mimic with the enigmatic common name Eastern Calligrapher.

Rye, NH / 28 October 2025

While there is still patchy snow, early season wildflowers are also emerging in subalpine areas like Sunrise! These pasqueflowers were found blooming in front of the Sunrise Visitor Center with hoverflies already hard at work as pollinators. Pasqueflowers (Anemone occidentalis) have big blooms with white petal-like sepals and yellow stamens. The entire plant is covered in long shining hairs that help insulate it from cold and windy subalpine conditions. Later in the season, the blooms are replaced by large mop-like, feathery seedheads, sometimes called “mouse-on-a-stick”. What early wildflowers are you observing in the park?

Please remember to stay on trails to protect the delicate subalpine wildflowers just starting to grow, even if it means crossing patches of snow!

For updates on what’s blooming where visit https://go.nps.gov/RainierWildflower

Unfamiliar with Mount Rainier’s wildflower species? Check out the wildflower guide at https://go.nps.gov/RainierWildflowerGuide