Thick-headed Fly - Physocephala

Moved

… Keith Bayless, 14 February, 2007 - 4:19pm

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

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