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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Flies (Diptera) » Aschiza » Syrphid Flies (Syrphidae) » Eristalinae » Volucellini » Volucella
Photo#135085
No clue...ideas? - Volucella
Copyright © 2007 J.R. Jones

No clue...ideas? - Volucella
Knoxville/Ijams Nature Center, Knox County, Tennessee, USA
August 5, 2007
Size: ~ 15-20 mm
Hanging out on Sagittaria latifolia (Broadleaf Arrowhead) flowers around dusk.
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Contributed by J.R. Jones on 8 August, 2007 - 12:39am
Last updated 25 August, 2007 - 2:38pm

Volucella sp.
This is a lovely image of a syrphid fly in the genus Volucella. The "Jay Leno chin" is very distinctive:-)
… Eric R. Eaton, 8 August, 2007 - 3:49pm login or register to post comments

 
Thanks, Eric!
I had no clue to even family level, as I'm not very familiar with the Diptera at all. I checked the guide, and there are only images of V. bombylans. I poked around for some other images elsewhere, and all the Volucella I ran across seemed to have yellow abdominal markings. This guy didn't have any. The greenish hue reminds me a lot of the Copestylum in this photo:

Is the actual shape of the "chin" helpful in separating genera? I like the "Jay Leno" reference, but the first thing I thought of was a little finchlike beak.
… J.R. Jones, 8 August, 2007 - 5:22pm login or register to post comments

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