Subject: STILETTO FLY?
Location: Ouachita Mountains, Ark.
August 10, 2015 6:50 pm
Hi! Are these Stiletto Flies? Photographed on a small bridge overlooking a creek in Fannie, Arkansas. Only one photo of them mating before they left. Summer, Aug. 10th. Is this a common variety?
Signature: Bill Burton
Dear Bill,
Though they resemble Stiletto Flies, we cannot find a matching image on BugGuide. Among the most noticeable diagnostic features for us are the posterior edge of the eye having an unusual concave feature and the spacing between the eyes being almost equal between the male and the female. We have requested assistance from Eric Eaton and we hope he can provide an identification soon.
Eric Eaton Identifies mating Bee Flies
Daniel:
I do recognize these as bee flies, family Bombyliidae. I don’t recognize the genus offhand. Herschel Raney’s “Random Acts of Nature” website might have pages devoted to bee flies of Arkansas. I know he has lots on Arkansas *robber* flies…..
Eric
author, Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America
http://bugeric.blogspot.com/
Ed. Note: We scanned the images on Random Natural Acts and BugGuide, but we could not conclusively identify these mating Bee Flies. Assistance from our readership is always welcomed.