Copestylum apiciferum - Copestylum apiciferum

Copestylum apiciferum - female

Thank you for sharing this excellent pics.

… Richard Vernier, 23 November, 2008 - 3:15pm

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

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

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

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

Wonderful!

I'm looking forward to seeing more of your fine images.

… Ron Hemberger, 23 November, 2008 - 4:31pm