Subject: Fuzzy wasps?
Location: Brunswick, NY (outside Albany)
April 24, 2017 7:23 am
Found these on goat poop in the pasture this morning. Upstate New York, end of April. It’s been reliably warm for a couple of weeks now.
Signature: Deb at Whimsey Acres Farm
Dear Deb at Whimsey Acres Farm,
These are NOT wasps. They are Flies, and we quickly identified them as Golden Dung Flies, Scathophaga stercoraria, thanks to images posted to BugGuide where it states: “adult males are bright yellow or golden; females are usually grayer; both sexes very hairy on body and legs.” BugGuide also states: “larvae found in/on dung of domestic and wild animals adults found in the neighborhood of larval development sites (dung) which can be just about anywhere – pastures, meadows, woodlands, beside standing or running water, parks, gardens, etc.” Your image represents a new category for our site as it is the first submission we have had for Dung Flies in the family Scathophagidae.
