Subject:  Butterfly? Day moth?
Geographic location of the bug:  North Alabama
Date: 07/08/2019
Time: 01:34 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  This little creature was hanging out where our ladder attaches to the pool. Can you identify?
How you want your letter signed:  Tammy

Tiger Bee Fly

Dear Tammy,
This is neither a butterfly nor a diurnal moth.  It is a Tiger Bee Fly, a harmless and very distinctive looking Fly.  See BugGuide for a comparison image.

Thank you so much for your time! I asked everyone around here if they knew what this interesting little creature that seems to have Zeus’s face on it’s back.
Best Regards,
Tammy

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Subjec:  Black fly with beautiful wings
Geographic location of the bug:  Brussels, Belgium
Date: 05/27/2019
Time: 01:35 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  It was the first time seeing this fly today.  The weather was a mild May Day. It’s wings were what caught my attention
How you want your letter signed:  Eigo Creativity

Bee Fly

Dear Eigo Creativity,
This is a Bee Fly in the family Bombyliidae and it looks very similar to our North American Tiger Bee Fly.  We believe your species is Anthrax anthrax which is pictured on Dave’s Garden.

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Subject:  What is this?
Geographic location of the bug:  Knysna, South Africa
Date: 01/17/2019
Time: 02:51 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  I found this interesting fella on a farm during December. I’d love to know what it is. I spotted it twice. Flies short distances and appeared to stay quite low to the ground.
How you want your letter signed:  Janine

Bee Fly

Dear Janine,
This is a wonderful image of a very striking looking Bee Fly in the family Bombyliidae, but alas, providing a species identification is proving to be difficult.  We did locate a matching image on Southern Africa Nature Photography and the blogger Selwyn Quan notes:  “The Bee flies (Family Bombyliidae) in South Africa have been very impressive. They are more than double the size of the Bee flies I usually spot in California, USA.  There is however a dearth of resources on the internet regarding identification of Bee flies of South Africa.”  We believe we eventually identified your individual as Bombomyia discoidea based on this iSpot posting and this iSpot posting.  Encyclopedia of Life has a nice image of a sexually dimorphic mating pair.

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Subject:  Is this a fly or a month?
Geographic location of the bug:  Southbridge, MA
Date: 08/06/2018
Time: 08:52 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Hello! This fascinating creature was sitting on the lockplate of my storm door for most of the day. Can you tell me what it is? Thank you! 🙂
How you want your letter signed:  Sue Rosner

Tiger Bee Fly

Dear Sue,
This is the fourth image we are posting of Tiger Bee Flies, Xenox tigrinus, submitted to our site in the last week and a half.  It does not sting nor bite.  According to BugGuide:  “Larva is a parasitoid of Carpenter Bees, Xylocopa.”

Daniel –
Thanks so much! I do rent an apartment in a very old home in Southbridge, MA. The shed on the property is inundated with Carpenter Bees, so this makes total sense.
Best Regards,
Susan

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Subject:  Large black flying insect with speckled wings
Geographic location of the bug:  Brooklyn, NY
Date: 08/05/2018
Time: 02:47 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Hey Bugman!
I was about to make some coffee when I heard a deep buzzing above me and looked up to find a rather large black flying insect (fly? wasp?) circling by the window trying to escape. It’s got a black body about 3/4 of an inch long with black and clear speckled wings that extend out another centimeter or so. The only identifying marks I could see are symmetrical white spots on the last couple tergites. I wanted to help it escape, but I have no idea if it stings or bites and didn’t want to risk it.
Thank you so much!!
How you want your letter signed:  Slightly Scared and Decaffeinated

Tiger Bee Fly

Dear Slightly Scared and Decaffeinated,
The Tiger Bee Fly is not dangerous to humans.

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Subject:  Large flying things
Geographic location of the bug:  Albany NY
Date: 07/28/2018
Time: 01:28 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  I’d like to know what you are. An why you like trying to steal my tanning chair.
How you want your letter signed:  Bug friend

Mating Tiger Bee Flies

Dear Bug friend,
These are mating Tiger Bee Flies, and to the best of our knowledge, they neither sting nor bite.

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