rss yellow jacket look alike? Fly or hornet?
Mon, Dec 15, 2008 at 5:29 AM
This should be a bee or hornet but the eyes and antennae made me wonder. Comparing to v. squamosa there are a lot of differences. This was on a garden flower in Berkeley CA in November, 2008.
Joe Halloran
Berkeley CA
Syrphid Fly
Hi Joe,
This is actually a fly in the family Syrphidae, the Syrphid Flies, also known as Flower Flies or Hover Flies. We believe it is in the genus Epistrophe based on images posted to BugGuide.
this red and olden dragonfly like insect i am in capable of i dentifying my self please help.
Thu, Nov 13, 2008 at 4:52 PM
i found this bug on my Jamaican dogwood in south florida and i cant seem to find out what its is. i wasn’t sure if it was a dragon fly do to its small size it was about 1 inch long maybe a little longer but very small it had only 2 wings at least that i could see the head and thorax where golden yellow and looked fuzzy to me the the abdomen was almost florescent red and looked like if you where to poor a glass and cranberry juice and look through it but brighter when it fly it hovered then moved and hovered more however it was moving to fast and i was only able to see it when hovering.
the ruler
south florida
Salpingogaster nepenthe
Dear The Ruler,
This is a species of Syrphid Fly, Salpingogaster nepenthe, which we quickly identified on BugGuide. Syprhid Flies belong to the family Syrphidae, and certain groups have common names like Flower Flies or Hover Flies, but this lovely specimen does not have a common name. You can impress your neighbors by referring to it by the scientific tongue twister Salpingogaster nepenthe.
Flower Fly?
I found this fly on a cassia in my yard this evening. The closest thing I found in the archives was a flower fly.
Thanks again Tad Swackhammer
Cutler Bay, FL
Syrphid Fly
Hi Tad,
Your are correct. This is a Syrphid Fly or Flower Fly. The species is Palpada vinetorum and is is well represented on BugGuide. Since our new site migration, we have been spending our free time trying to organize our archives a bit. We started with beetles, the biggest chunk of posts, and we are trying to sub-categorize. At some point, we will get to the flies as well.
Greetings from Topeka, Kansas,
I have a couple pics here of a hover fly, sort of a hornet mimic. Handsome little fellow. (OK I have no idea about it’s gender) It was very patient too, as I had to keep nudging him/her with my finger to get a face shot. Peace! -
Jeff Volpert
Hi Jeff,
This lovely Hover Fly is probably Spilomyia longicornis, or a closely related species. This fly mimics Polistes Wasps or Yellowjackets. According to BugGuide, this is a widespread species in the eastern states.
What’s this bug?
Hi,
Can you identify what this hornet? is? I’m from the UK. Thanks for your help.
Rob
Hi Rob,
This is not a hornet. It is a fly. More specifically, it is a Hover Fly in the family Syrphidae, tribe Volucellini and genus/species Volucella inanis, which we located after a bit of research. In the U.S. there is a space between the words hover and fly, but the UK website that identified your specimen does not include the space. In the US, since this is a true fly, the word fly is given autonomy in the common name to distinguish a true fly from other flying insects like butterflies, dragonflies or dobsonflies. Many Hover Flies, which are also called Flower Flies, mimic bees and wasps. This could be a protective mimicry when they are feeding since they cannot sting, but the insects they mimic can. Larvae of this fly are scavengers in bumble-bee or wasp nests.
Fly Picture
I captured this beautiful looking fly in late July in Dublin, Ohio. Please could you identify. Thank you.
Andrea
Hi Andrea,
Collectively, the flies in the family Syrphidae are known as Hover Flies, Flower Flies or Syrphid Flies. Your species is a real beauty, Spilomyia interrupta.
I just dunno about this one…
Good evening Mr. Bugman!
I am of course in need of your help in identifying a bee/wasp that I have encountered several times in my front yard. Let me stop and first say that I LOVE your site, and while I am pretty jumpy when it comes to most bugs, especially when they are on my person, (typical girl, I know) I have come to understand that they are here for a very good reason, thanks in part to you guys!! Ok I digress…back to my mystery bee/wasp. I live in Louisiana about 25 miles north of Shreveport on about 30 some odd acres, full of mostly pine and maple trees. In front of our house we have a nice sized tree stump, that we attempted to burn, (unsuccessfully). Everyday I go and come from work for about the past two months (or so) I have seen this nice sized insect hovering around this stump…basically protecting it, so it seems. It lands sometimes and pulsates it’s abdoman but I never see it doing anything else but chase off other insects. When I came home today I actually saw it mating with another one, and I ran inside for my camera, but by the time I came out it was by itself again. I checked every single bee, and wasp website I could find, (of course including yours), but got nowhere. Help me please Mr. Bugman! Thankfully yours,
Erica B.
Benton, LA
Hi Erica,
The reason your search was fruitless is that this is not a bee nor a wasp. It is a Yellow Jacket Hover Fly, Milesia virginiensis. As its common name indicates, it is a fly that mimics a yellow jacket. You can locate more information on this Syrphid Fly on BugGuide.
weird orange legged fly
I have noticed these all over Alberta Canada. I have no idea what kind of two winged fly it is. any ideas?
Dave Sward
Hi Dave,
We haven’t had any luck identifying this creature. We hope Eric Eaton has the answer. Eric’s response: “The unidentified fly appears to be a syrphid, family Syrphidae. The classification I have not kept up with, but it reminds me of the genus Xylota. I’ll see if I can’t get more specific later on.” Later Eric added this: “It is either a species of Xylota, or Chalcosyrphus (which was split from Xylota some time ago).”
Update: May 22, 2011
Might this be Chalcosyrphus curvaria based on this BugGuide imagery?
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