Hover flies are long-distance travellers
The pollen they carry stirs continent-wide gene pools
SAY “POLLINATORS” and most people will think “bees”. They are correct, for bees are the most important insects involved in pollinating flowers. Rather fewer, however, might guess that the second-most important group is probably hoverflies. Yet hoverflies, according to a study published in 2020, help fertilise 52% of the world’s crops and 70% of its animal-pollinated wildflowers.
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This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Long-haul travel”
From the October 11th 2025 edition
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