Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
 

Register · Log In
HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
Upcoming Events

Registration is open for the 2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho July 24-27

Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2023

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2018 gathering in Virginia, July 27-29


Previous events
TaxonomyBrowseInfoImagesLinksBooksData
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Flies (Diptera) » Orthorrhapha » Asiloidea » Bee Flies (Bombyliidae) » Bombyliinae » Conophorini » Conophorus » Conophorus fenestratus
Photo#264147
bristle-nose Bee Fly - Conophorus fenestratus - female
Copyright © 2009 Emile

bristle-nose Bee Fly - Conophorus fenestratus - Female
Santa Monica Mountains, Los Angeles County, California, USA
March 29, 2009
Size: ~ 7 mm
Hairy & Wary.

Sat on the trail and would take off repeatedly when the camera button got pressed, resulting in many a blurry aerial fly.

I love the hairy snout.
Awesome creature.

Fairly sure this is a female Conophorus fenestrata.
Although I have a hard time seeing the shiny, sulcate scutellum in its cousin C. collini.
Any feedback or confirmation is highly appreciated.

Images of this individual: tag all
bristle-nose Bee Fly - Conophorus fenestratus - female bristle-nose Bee Fly - Conophorus fenestratus - female
tag · login or register to post comments
Contributed by Emile on 7 April, 2009 - 2:24pm

Hi Emile,
I agree that this is C. fenestratus, certainly because the scutellum of this fly is convex, without a median gap, as in collini. Wing pattern also differs, but the scutellum is the easiest way to tell the two apart.
The 'sulcate scutellum' in C. collini is basically a bilobed scutellum, with the gap filled with tomentum. A sulcate scutellum can also be seen in some other species, i.e. Geminaria canalis, and in several Aphoebantus spp.
… Hartmut Wisch, 30 May, 2009 - 11:16pm login or register to post comments

 
Thanks a lot for the ID confirmation, Hartmut !
… Emile, 31 May, 2009 - 8:26am login or register to post comments

 
By the way,
both males and females can usually be found nectaring in low growing annuals, especially Cryptantha flowers.
… Hartmut Wisch, 31 May, 2009 - 10:34am login or register to post comments

 
Thanks for the extra info, Hartmut.
It's great to learn about the ecology of little studied animals like these, and for that matter, most invertebrates.

This exemplar was sitting, and repeatedly returning, to the trail, but there were a lot of low annuals blooming nearby; perhaps even Cryptantha.

I wanted to ask if this is indeed a female specimen.
… Emile, 1 June, 2009 - 8:11am login or register to post comments

Comment viewing options
Select your preferred way to display the comments and click 'Save settings' to activate your changes.

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2024 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology at Iowa State University logo

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Statement
Site Map
Contact