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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Flies (Diptera) » "Aschiza" » Hover Flies (Syrphidae) » Eristalinae » Eristalini » Eristalina » Meromacrus » Meromacrus acutus
Photo#1616641
Is this a Southern Yellowjacket (Vespula squamosa)? - Meromacrus acutus
Copyright © 2018 Kala King

Is this a Southern Yellowjacket (Vespula squamosa)? - Meromacrus acutus
Garland, Dallas County, Texas, USA
August 12, 2017
Caught in a spiderweb in my window behind blinds inside my house. will add additional views

Images of this individual: tag all
Is this a Southern Yellowjacket (Vespula squamosa)? - Meromacrus acutus Is this a Southern Yellowjacket (Vespula squamosa)? view 2 - Meromacrus acutus Is this a Southern Yellowjacket (Vespula squamosa)? view 3 - Meromacrus acutus
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Contributed by Kala King on 1 December, 2018 - 10:33am

Moved
Moved from ID Request.
… Kelsey J.R.P. Byers, 1 December, 2018 - 11:08am login or register to post comments

It is a fly
Syrphidae
… john and jane balaban, 1 December, 2018 - 11:04am login or register to post comments

 
Thank you
I kept thinking something about it looked off compared to my regular yellow jackets.
… Kala King, 1 December, 2018 - 8:46pm login or register to post comments

 
Yes! It's trying very hard to
Yes! It's trying very hard to look dangerous (we call this Batesian mimicry when the insect isn't actually dangerous, after Henry Walter Bates). If it looks dangerous enough it might not get eaten... though apparently that spider didn't care enough about its potential danger.
… Kelsey J.R.P. Byers, 2 December, 2018 - 4:45am login or register to post comments

 
Actually....
I think it did fool the spider. Instead of just rushing in and wrapping it up, that spider was very cautious and kept trying to bite it on the legs. I photographed it from 10:38 am until 11:15am when I had to leave. 2 hours later when I returned and checked, the fly was finally wrapped up. The spider was staying away from the body of the fly. So, my guess is that the spider thought it could get stung if it went for the body of the fly while the fly was still moving.
… Kala King, 2 December, 2018 - 6:24am login or register to post comments

 
Oh cool! That does sound like
Oh cool! That does sound like cautious behavior, even with the size difference. Thanks for sharing!
… Kelsey J.R.P. Byers, 2 December, 2018 - 10:09am login or register to post comments

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