I encountered this individual on open sandy ground in extreme southeastern Missouri. When I first saw the adult, it was on its back on the ground, feebly waving a couple of legs in the air. I at first thought it was some kind of clumsy beetle but realized what it was as I approached it. Clearly the fly was in distress, and I thought it odd that the puparium was laying on the ground next to it. We could find no emergence hole nearby, so perhaps the puparium was exposed by rain prior to emerging and suffered some desiccation, or perhaps the adult had gotten stuck in the tough puparium and pulled it to the surface as it emerged – burning its limited energy reserves in the process. At any rate, it is rather unusual to find these things emerging with the pupal case.

My thanks to Jeff Boettler for confirming the species. More details can be found at my blog, Beetles in the Bush.