DECRYPTION – More than a third of the species of these diptera, harmless cousins of flies, are considered threatened with extinction.
With their air of a bee, a wasp or a bumblebee, hoverflies like to pretend to be someone else. However, these little-known little insects belonging to the Diptera order are everywhere, in meadows, gardens, hedges, playing an irreplaceable role as pollinators alongside bees. Bad news: according to the first survey carried out on a European scale, 37% of the 890 species of hoverflies are threatened. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists them on its Red List as Vulnerable, Endangered, or Critically Endangered. This report, unveiled on Tuesday, was financed and commissioned by the European Commission.
“While the spotlight has been shone on honey bees in recent years, hoverflies are also very effective pollinators”, underlines Véronique Sarthou, consultant in agroecology and specialist in these harmless insects, cousins of flies, horseflies and mosquitoes. Syrphid flies – known as “hoverflies”…
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