You have basil growing, and some hover flies chilling on top. If you’re worried about either, don’t! Basil is delicious and hover flies pollinate
txsparky87
Rub the leaf and give your fingers a smell. It looks like basil and the smell will confirm that.
wzl46
Twins, Basil!
Shrimpcocktail7
ADDING: I know the plant is basil lol I’m worried about the bugs! They’re all over my soil
DreamingElectrons
Insect: It looks a bit like a soldier fly but I can’t tell what species exactly. They are attracted by the smell of rotting plant matter to lay their eggs in.
Plant: That’s common basil it’s planted a bit too packed, you should cut away the weaker plants to give the strongest place to grow.
White crumbly stuff: That’s perlite mechanically/chemically treated volcanic glass. It’s commonly added to potting mix to prevent it from compacting too much but also because it’s cheap and stretches the volume.
YorkieLon
It looks to me to be a lovely bug. And nothing they’re great pollinators.
You could plant some other plants that deter them, Marigolds, garlic, onions. There’s plenty of plants that deter
Tilbob
Post this in r/whatsthisbug and you’ll have everything you need to know pretty quickly
conor34
Look like the St Marks Fly. So called because they emerge around St Marks Day 25th of April. Completely harmless, they mate lay eggs and die within a few days.
Thank you everyone for the insight!! I have a bunch of insects throughout the summer that eat at my veggies and I had never seen these guys before. They were SWARMING all over my soil and baby basils and tomatoes! I wanted to ensure if they were pests to the garden or not! Can confirm no flies were harmed 🙂
Chegit0
I have those too! What should I do?
Emily4571962
Make pesto.
Alicia1605
I’m pretty sure that is basil, just grab a leaf and smell it.
AugieKS
These are an adult male diophus sp., or March flies. The larvae feed on roots and decomposing plant matter but are an important source of humus in soil so a net positive. The adults feed on nectar and are important pollinators, harmless to your plants. They are all over because they are just emerging. They won’t be around long, short life cycle.
italy_1966
Pesto
Alert-Aerie-3930
How about tips for dealing with purple basil?
Elon_Bezos420
That’s basil, if that’s what you meant
Delicious-Ad4015
Looks like Basil
SunshineWorship
Looks like basil
schillerstone
I think those are ants that only temporarily fly. If so, they wont be eating your plant and you can not worry about it.
zachisonreddittt
That would be soil. Soil the upper layer of earth in which plants grow, a black or dark brown material typically consisting of a mixture of organic remains, clay, and rock particles. It’s pretty natural and nothing to worry about! Hope that helps!
I’m here for the inevitable caprese salad recipes in the replies.
That_Shock2912
Basil
oldmagic55
Basil
Big-Plantain1822
Basil
J03m0mma
I recently learned that planting basil around your tomatoes keeps Tomato hook worms away. They can’t smell the tomatoes cause the basil is so over powering. I let mine bolt and flower bees LOVE the flowers and hit my other plants too
breeezy420b
Sprinkle DE on top of the soil when it’s dry
SweetLaylaMel420
Its basil
coolthecoolest
goddammit herbs aren’t even my specific gardening niche but thinking about how good basil smells makes me want to try again.
Kenley
I’m an entomologist and the flies (if that’s what you’re asking about) are March Flies (family Bibionidae). The adults are harmless, but the larvae live in the soil and some species are plant pests.
44 Comments
Rathbone! Basil Rathbone!🧛
Make pesto, in a few weeks
Do you mean the basil, the flies or the perlite?
You have basil growing, and some hover flies chilling on top. If you’re worried about either, don’t! Basil is delicious and hover flies pollinate
Rub the leaf and give your fingers a smell. It looks like basil and the smell will confirm that.
Twins, Basil!
ADDING: I know the plant is basil lol I’m worried about the bugs! They’re all over my soil
Insect: It looks a bit like a soldier fly but I can’t tell what species exactly. They are attracted by the smell of rotting plant matter to lay their eggs in.
Plant: That’s common basil it’s planted a bit too packed, you should cut away the weaker plants to give the strongest place to grow.
White crumbly stuff: That’s perlite mechanically/chemically treated volcanic glass. It’s commonly added to potting mix to prevent it from compacting too much but also because it’s cheap and stretches the volume.
It looks to me to be a lovely bug. And nothing they’re great pollinators.
You could plant some other plants that deter them, Marigolds, garlic, onions. There’s plenty of plants that deter
Post this in r/whatsthisbug and you’ll have everything you need to know pretty quickly
Look like the St Marks Fly. So called because they emerge around St Marks Day 25th of April. Completely harmless, they mate lay eggs and die within a few days.
Basil. Eat them
Looks like someone has pesto in there future.
Basil and maybe a May fly. No worries.
2/3 of a carnivore capresse salad.
[March Fly](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibio_vestitus)
You’ve been blessed with beautiful basil!
What did the basil ever do to you?
I’m a cop you idiot!!
Basil you lucky duck! Time for a pizza oven.
Thank you everyone for the insight!! I have a bunch of insects throughout the summer that eat at my veggies and I had never seen these guys before. They were SWARMING all over my soil and baby basils and tomatoes! I wanted to ensure if they were pests to the garden or not! Can confirm no flies were harmed 🙂
I have those too! What should I do?
Make pesto.
I’m pretty sure that is basil, just grab a leaf and smell it.
These are an adult male diophus sp., or March flies. The larvae feed on roots and decomposing plant matter but are an important source of humus in soil so a net positive. The adults feed on nectar and are important pollinators, harmless to your plants. They are all over because they are just emerging. They won’t be around long, short life cycle.
Pesto
How about tips for dealing with purple basil?
That’s basil, if that’s what you meant
Looks like Basil
Looks like basil
I think those are ants that only temporarily fly. If so, they wont be eating your plant and you can not worry about it.
That would be soil. Soil the upper layer of earth in which plants grow, a black or dark brown material typically consisting of a mixture of organic remains, clay, and rock particles. It’s pretty natural and nothing to worry about! Hope that helps!
[https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/discover/animals/insects/flying-ants/](https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/discover/animals/insects/flying-ants/)
I’m here for the inevitable caprese salad recipes in the replies.
Basil
Basil
Basil
I recently learned that planting basil around your tomatoes keeps Tomato hook worms away. They can’t smell the tomatoes cause the basil is so over powering. I let mine bolt and flower bees LOVE the flowers and hit my other plants too
Sprinkle DE on top of the soil when it’s dry
Its basil
goddammit herbs aren’t even my specific gardening niche but thinking about how good basil smells makes me want to try again.
I’m an entomologist and the flies (if that’s what you’re asking about) are March Flies (family Bibionidae). The adults are harmless, but the larvae live in the soil and some species are plant pests.
Basil. Yum
Basil? Or the bugs