I remember you mentioning that on a previous specimen I posted, and in trying to find a match for this fellow, that's the only thing I looked for. I couldn't, however, find any exact or even really close match on the wing patterns.

Having encountered this situation, I'm now wondering if by comparing wings you might mean the venation of the wing rather than the color and/or pattern. If venation is what you mean, that would make it quite a chore to find an accurate ID since many images (including my own) are not detailed enough to easily make out the vein structure.

Still at somewhat of a loss, I am willing to chance extending my ID to this bee fly being a male, because of the large eyes placed close together at the top - though with my apparent non-skill at IDing, I would suppose the eye thing probably doesn't hold true for bee flies.

:-P)

I'm unable to run this one down and suggest you move the post to Bee Flies for expert attention. Forced to guess, I'd say either Anthrax or Hemipenthes, more likely the latter.

The eye thing can be tough to determine, and doesn't work on bee flies. (It's good on syrphids, though. However, it's eyes touching at the top, not eyes close, that pinpoints the male.)

The vast majority of bee flies I see are female; those are the ones digging and depositing in the sand. The only way I can be sure with gender is on a mating pair, as the male is the smaller.

I moved it - and thanks, your knowledge and assistance are always welcome and appreciated.

:-P)