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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Flies (Diptera) » "Aschiza" » Hover Flies (Syrphidae) » Eristalinae » Volucellini » Copestylum » Copestylum apiciferum
Photo#241527
Copestylum apiciferum - Copestylum apiciferum - female
Copyright © 2008 Gerardine Vargas

Copestylum apiciferum - Copestylum apiciferum - Female
tucson, pima County, Arizona, USA
November 23, 2008
Size: ~3/4 inch
Not sure if this is a bee or a fly. Can anyone ID please?

Images of this individual: tag all
Copestylum apiciferum - Copestylum apiciferum - female Copestylum apiciferum - Copestylum apiciferum - female Copestylum apiciferum - Copestylum apiciferum - female
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Contributed by Gerardine Vargas on 23 November, 2008 - 2:42pm
Last updated 23 November, 2008 - 9:22pm

Copestylum apiciferum - female
Thank you for sharing this excellent pics.
… Richard Vernier, 23 November, 2008 - 3:15pm login or register to post comments

 
Thanks for the ID!
Thanks very much Richard for both the spot on, quick reply and kind comment. Good to know it's a female :). Quick question if you're not too busy...how can you tell it's female?
… Gerardine Vargas, 23 November, 2008 - 4:32pm login or register to post comments

 
Compound eyes of males...
meet each other at the top of head, instead of being widely separate like on "your" female specimen. You can see the difference quite easily by watching the BG page devoted to this species (Diptera>Syrphidae>Eristalinae>Volucellini>Copestylum)
… Richard Vernier, 23 November, 2008 - 7:40pm login or register to post comments

This successful bee mimic should be proud!
It's a syrphid, Copestylum sp. Someone more astute than I might get it to species. I find these quite fun to shoot. BTW, if you see a white face, it's likely you're looking at a syrphid.
… Ron Hemberger, 23 November, 2008 - 3:07pm login or register to post comments

 
Syrphids are awesome
Thanks, Ron. That's very interesting information. After looking thru the syrphid pages of this site, I'm fascinated by the varied designs of these bee mimics. They're beautiful and I'll be on a lookout for these.
… Gerardine Vargas, 23 November, 2008 - 4:30pm login or register to post comments

 
Wonderful!
I'm looking forward to seeing more of your fine images.
… Ron Hemberger, 23 November, 2008 - 4:31pm login or register to post comments

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