Bombyliidae - Bombylius pygmaeus

Moved

Moved from Bombylius.

… Joel Kits, 1 January, 2008 - 5:31pm

Moved

Moved from Bee Flies.

… Hartmut Wisch, 28 January, 2007 - 10:17pm

Certainly Bombylius -

pygmaeus is similar, and listed for Alaska; not completely sure about the wing pattern.
Moving to genus for now.

… Hartmut Wisch, 28 January, 2007 - 10:16pm

Great image

It has very high resolution and it could be cropped drastically to show more detail on the fly, for purposes of ID this is the best approach.

… Beatriz Moisset, 4 November, 2006 - 6:14pm

As requested, updated image.

I replaced the the original photo with a cropped image from the high-resolution original. I hope this helps.

… Dave Guinn, 5 November, 2006 - 4:18pm

Bombylius pygmaeus

I don't think this is an Anthrax, or that subfamily, as they all have a short proboscis. Looks like Bombylius pygmaeus, compare:

It is apparenty widespread, noted from Canada (guide page references) south to at least North Carolina.

… Cotinis, 4 November, 2006 - 7:24am

Anthrax sp.

Looks like Anthrax sp. or anyhow something in Anthracinae. Unusual for the white line between and behind the wing bases, and maybe that will help narrow the ID.

… Stephen Cresswell, 4 November, 2006 - 5:19am

Short probocis

Ah, a short probocis, right you are Patrick. I withdraw my suggestion.

Bombylius pygmaeus does look good, with that silver band across the abdomen, and also silvery "fur" on the sides of the thorax. The Alaska photo has heavier wing spotting, but that could be local variation—after all Alaska is a long way from where those other photos were taken.

… Stephen Cresswell, 4 November, 2006 - 7:54am