<P> - The wings are often clear or have smooth gradients of tinting, their veins merge posteriorly into a "false edge" that runs parallel to the wing's true rear edge and extends along half or more of the wing length (bombyliid wings lack a "false rear edge" and often have large dark areas with sharp boundaries, or complex patterns of spots) </P> <P> - The abdomen and thorax often have glossy cuticular body surfaces, abdominal colors are usually mainly due to cuticular pigments (bee flies are usually very hairy, their abdominal colors are almost always due to pigmentation of hairs and not the underlying cuticle). </P> <P> Unlike adults, the maggots of hoverflies feed on a variety of foods; some are saprotrophs, eating decaying plant or animal matter, while others are insectivores, eating aphids, thrips, and other plant - sucking insects . This is beneficial to gardens, as aphids destroy crops, and hoverfly maggots are often used in biological control . Certain species, such as Lampetia equestris or Eumerus tuberculatus, are responsible for pollination . </P> <P> An example of a well - known hoverfly maggot is the rat - tailed maggot, of the drone fly, Eristalis tenax . It has a breathing siphon at its rear end, giving it its name . The species lives in stagnant water, such as sewage and lagoons . The maggots also have a commercial use, and are sometimes sold for ice fishing . </P>

Insect that looks like a fly and a bee