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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Flies (Diptera) » Acalyptratae » Thick-headed Flies (Conopidae) » Conopinae » Physocephala
Photo#93770
Thick-headed Fly - Physocephala
Copyright © 2006 sashajade

Thick-headed Fly - Physocephala
Charleston, South Carolina, USA
July 30, 2006
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Contributed by sashajade on 26 January, 2007 - 2:48am
Last updated 14 February, 2007 - 4:19pm

Moved
Moved from Thick-headed Flies.
… Keith Bayless, 14 February, 2007 - 4:19pm login or register to post comments

Fly
You said bee/fly, revealing your instinct that this might not be the bee (wasp) it looks like at first glance. As you suspected, it is a fly in the family Conopidae, the Thick-Headed Flies.

The prominent beak (mouthparts) below the antennae are typical of this family.

One way you can tell it is a fly is that it has halteres, the tiny vestigal rear wings. They are yellowish on your fly.

Your particular fly not only looks a lot like a paper wasp, it also resembles this photo of one of its fellow Conopids:



There is also some good discussion on that page.

Good eye!
… Stephen Cresswell, 26 January, 2007 - 4:34am login or register to post comments

 
Thanks Stephen
You're right. I wasn't 100% certain since this insect shows features of both a bee and a fly. At first, I also thought of a paper wasp, but then I noticed the wings and the mouth - definitely not the same. Thanks for your help! =)
… sashajade, 26 January, 2007 - 1:45pm login or register to post comments

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