For a very brief instant, I detected some movement inside the pupa and saw the hoverfly pushing its head out first.
And some seconds after a female Episyrphus balteatus had fully emerged.
It walked fast, I presume to find shelter for her wing to develop, so I put it back into the jar and left it for a while. It took about 16 minutes for the wings to develop completely, however the abdomen was still filling up with fluid.
It took about an hour for the fly to be fully formed. I left it in the jar overnight as it was raining outside and released it in the garden the morning after.
I had never seen the emergence of a fly so it was a very nice experience for me to be able to witness this in the comfort of my home.
It is worth mentioning that the origin of the 3 broccolis was Lincolnshire and that two out of the three had been grown organically. I am no specialist but assuming that the larva was feeding on aphids on broccoli plantation and not on nearby vegetation, is this not a proof that at least Episyrphus balteatus is helping to reduce the number of aphids on crops?