A novel method to investigate the pollen diets of hoverflies is described. The method dispenses with the need for dissection skills or the use of hazardous chemicals thus making it particularly useful for school, college or undergraduate projects and for amateurs. It utilises the properties of the indigestible pollen coat, or exine, which enables pollen to pass through the gut of a hoverfly intact and remain identifiable, even when defaecated. Importantly it does not require the harvesting of insects making it particularly useful for work with rare species. The method was used to investigate the pollen diet of marmalade flies ("Episyrphus balteatus") caught in a meadow but it could also be used to investigate many other aspects of syrphid ecology. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)