I didn’t have my DSLR camera last spring, so I’ve been excited about getting to take some flower and insect photos with my macro lens.  Yesterday the skies were getting dark and it looked like we could be getting a storm, so I grabbed my camera and headed out behind our house where the wild flowers will be.  My best find was this hoverfly on a blade of grass:

They are scarcely bigger than a grain of rice.  Here he is in flight:

These little flies are considered beneficial to gardeners as they help in pollination and they also eat aphids.  Some gardeners include plants in their gardens that attract hoverflies, such as alyssum, Iberis umbellata, statice, buckwheat, chamomille, parsley, and yarrow.