#bee mimic

[herpsandbirds]

Brilliant Carpenter-Bee Mimic Hawk Moth (Sataspes tagalica), family Sphingidae, Chiang Dao, Thailand

photograph by Antonio Giudici

[textless]

All robber flies are hunters, but this one specializes in bees and does a pretty convincing impression of a large bumble bee.

I believe it is a Mallophora fautrix, and I was delighted to find it hunting bees in the yard last summer.

Cochise County Arizona, July 2025.

[miyrumiyru]

They looks like a wasp chewing a toothpick

[snoots-theclown]

Bee mimicking flies wallpaper I made

Plus here's a better look and fully repeating pattern

[stopandlook]

Scientific Name: Palpada vinetorum Common Name(s): Northern plushback Family: Syrphidae (hover fly) Life Stage(s): Adult Location: Plano, Texas Season(s): Summer

Not a bee. Male, with eyes that meet. ID key for plushback flies.

[herlastnamepage]

Overflies & Asters. Cotton Manor, 2025 taken by @herlastnamepage

[coolbugs]

Bug of the Day

A wee hoverfly (Toxomerus geminatus) resting on a blade of fennel.

[jenfoundabug]

Look at how cute this soldier fly is <3 While these flies do not bite or sting, their coloration mimics a bee or wasp as protection from predators. Stratiomys maculosa, Northern California