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Photo#1727991
Two bee or not a bee

Two bee or not a bee
West edge Willapa Bay, Pacific County, Washington, USA
September 15, 2019
Photo taken on ΒΌ in. (6.35 mm) graph paper.

Frassed - not needed for guide.
Moved from ID Request.

Identification has been taken about as far as it can be...

Hover flies (family Syrphidae
Hover flies (family Syrphidae), specifically tribe Syrphini. Not sure we can get much further without at least a dorsal photograph.

 
Note of thanks
Yes .. in a hurry and did not notice both views were of the ventral until ready to send off. The ID was great .. just wanted to have a general idea of what bug it was. Are they a good pollinator .. In September? Thanks again.

 
Sure - hoverflies are valuabl
Sure - hoverflies are valuable pollinators (probably our most important after both introduced honeybees and native bees*), plus the larvae of this subfamily are voracious predators, devouring aphids by the bucketload.

* based on Figure 2 from here: https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/113/1/146.full.pdf

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