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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Flies (Diptera) » Aschiza » Syrphid Flies (Syrphidae) » Eristalinae » Ceriini » Sphiximorpha
Photo#113989
Syrphid Fly - Sphiximorpha - male
Copyright © 2007 Tom Bentley

Syrphid Fly - Sphiximorpha - Male
Reed-Turner Woodland Nature Preserve, Lake County, Illinois, USA
May 18, 2007
Size: ~15-20mm
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Contributed by Tom Bentley on 30 May, 2007 - 5:27pm
Last updated 31 May, 2007 - 9:25am

Sphiximorpha
Awesome, it tricked you with the perfect wasp mimicry! It is a Syrphid fly (only two wings and you can clearly see the yeloow halters, which were the hindwings). It also has the front of the wing darkend so it looks like a narrow waps wing (which is folded in a Z-shap)and the long antennae... The genus is Sphiximorpha and the larvae are living in sap of tree wounds, feeding on the fungi and bacteria grownig in there. It is a male (the eyes meet on top of the head). This is a good character to distinguish it from Conopids, they look very similar, but the eyes in both sexes never met on the top of the head... It is a very uncommon fly..
… Martin Hauser, 30 May, 2007 - 7:03pm login or register to post comments

 
Thanks for all the great info
Thanks for all the great info!! Interesting guy!
… Tom Bentley, 30 May, 2007 - 7:18pm login or register to post comments

 
My mistake
Ah. Now I see the vena spuria!
… Sean McCann, 30 May, 2007 - 8:17pm login or register to post comments

...
Conopid fly.
… Sean McCann, 30 May, 2007 - 5:38pm login or register to post comments

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