Syrphid Fly - Spilomyia alcimus

Moved

Moved from Spilomyia.
Just noticed that we already have some posts of this sp., so here it flies to the species page.

… Hartmut Wisch, 4 October, 2008 - 9:52am

Yes, they can fool you

into believing, at least briefly in the wild, that they're some kind of wasp. They even mimic the wing beat frequency of yellowjackets.
Your nice photo is of Spilomyia alcimus; the abdominal pattern is diagnostic. This species ranges from Newfoundland to Wisconsin, and south to FL and MS.
This was an interesting diversion upon which I chanced while checking whether I had yet posted a certain Pseudomasaris species.

… Hartmut Wisch, 4 October, 2008 - 9:51am

You've been had!

... by a syrphid fly of the genus Spilomyia, perhaps Spilomyia longicornis, but this has more yellow than I'm used to seeing:

These things are extremely convincing mimics of hymenoptera.

… Cotinis, 1 October, 2008 - 8:58am

Color Me Blind

I was so focused on the pattern I didn't even notice the itty-bitty fly antennae. I been had, again. Thanks. BTW how did you add the image? I viewed the source and I'm not familar with some html code (class="bgimage-thumb").

… Robert Lord Zimlich, 1 October, 2008 - 9:09am

To add an image as above...

Use this format, where "xxxx" is replaced by the number on the top left corner of the desired image:

[thumb:xxxx]

More info of this nature is found at the Help tab, which is sort of a mini-manual.

… Ron Hemberger, 1 October, 2008 - 10:02am