Thick-headed fly? - Dioprosopa clavata - BugGuide.Net

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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Flies (Diptera) » "Aschiza" » Hover Flies (Syrphidae) » Syrphinae » Syrphini » Dioprosopa » Dioprosopa clavata

Photo#1114032

Copyright © 2015 Beth Sands

Thick-headed fly? - Dioprosopa clavata -

Manteca, San joaquin County, California, USA
August 2, 2015
Size: 1/2"

It has been a while since I posted new insects but I am still an enthusiast and love this web-site ; good job to all involved in this valued and appreciated service to enable humans to appreciate all life big and small . Anyhow , this fellow caught my eye as it hovered in my flower garden with golden shiny wings under the bright sun-light . It is different than most Hover-flies that I have seen because of it's wasp-like body which is reminiscent of the Thick-headed fly . I don't think that it has the antennae of the Thick-headed fly though so I am asking assistance in the identification of this wondrous fly , thanks so much . Sincerely , Beth

Images of this individual: tag all

Thick-headed fly? - Dioprosopa clavata - male

Thick-headed fly? - Dioprosopa clavata - male

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Contributed by Beth Sands on 2 August, 2015 - 1:33pm
Last updated 3 August, 2015 - 5:34pm

Male!

Beth, here is a close up of the head of a male, (not yet labeled) from way over in Florida:

This female, from California is shown at an angle, but her eye gap is still obviously wider than both of the males:

I hope this helps you to understand him! Thanks

… Bob Biagi, 2 August, 2015 - 2:07pm

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Male Wasp mimic

Thanks Bob for the swift reply ; awesome as I love finding new and interesting insects . I know that this fellow had an interesting behavior as he raised his tail up and down like he was nervous ... probably because I kept tailing him . Anyhow , it did look wasp-like which is always interesting for his mere survival defense tactic ; to appear more wasp-like as opposed to fly-like may help him look more fierce and maybe his tail-whopping is also a defense mechanism for survival ; cool !
Thanks again for making my hard working day ( blue collar job ) better ! Sincerely Beth

… Beth Sands, 3 August, 2015 - 4:18pm

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Lebels

Beth, whenever you post a new bug or if you find out more information about an old one, you can always edit any image, and down by the bottom of the screen, you can select a box for "male" or "female" and "adult" or "immature", if you know the answer for sure. This makes the sex of our bugs show up in the browser, which is handy for everyone and allows for more accurate searches. If you don't know for sure, you should leave it blank and sometimes the administrators will set this for us, since we often make mistakes, haha!

… Bob Biagi, 3 August, 2015 - 4:39pm

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Wasp-mimic

Thanks again ; happy hunting !

… Beth Sands, 3 August, 2015 - 5:35pm

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Moved

Moved from ID Request.

… v belov, 2 August, 2015 - 1:35pm

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