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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Subject:  Large Fly of some sort
Geographic location of the bug:  London, Ontario Canada
Date: 07/25/2018
Time: 06:55 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  This thing has been visiting my workplace over the last few days. It’s fairly large and has basically no fear of humans. I’m guessing it could take a chunk out of me if it chose to but thankfully it hasn’t come to that. What exactly is it?
How you want your letter signed:  Mike Woodford

Tiger Bee Fly

Dear Mike,
You have nothing to fear from this Tiger Bee Fly.  According to BugGuide:  “Adult food unknown. An adult has been observed on damp mud, lapping up fluids.”

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Subject:  unidentified flying pollinator
Geographic location of the bug:  Hillsborough, NJ, USA
Date: 04/23/2018
Time: 09:16 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Greetings:
I saw something pollinating some Spring Beauties on April 21. I assumed at the time that I was getting photos of some sort of bee, but when I got a closer look at the pictures when I got home I got more of a fly (or mosquito?) vibe from it. Can you give me an idea of what this is?
How you want your letter signed:  John

Greater Bee Fly

Dear John,
You are correct that this is not a Bee.  It is a Greater Bee Fly, Bombylius major.  According to BugGuide:  “A common and widespread bee fly, often seen taking nectar on early spring wildflowers or seen hovering in sunny patches in woodlands” and “adults fly from March to May (most common in April).”

Greater Bee Fly

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