#physocephala

[tytonidyke]

Physocephala tibialis

[platycryptus]

it’s weird fly hour and on today’s weird fly menu is this thing, Physocephala tibialis.

not only does it afford protection by looking like a wasp (and enjoys... waving?), these things are parasitoids of bees and wasps. This one is a male, but females have a clearly visible ‘can opener’ structure on their abdomen to pry open the segments of their victim’s abdomen and insert eggs.

[faguscarolinensis]

Physocephala tibialis on Itea virginica / Thick-Headed Fly on Virginia Sweetspire at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens at Duke University in Durham, NC

[coolbugs]

Bug of the Day

Check out this cool thread-waisted wasp I found in my pollinator garden the other day!

(Just kidding, it’s a fly, not a wasp - a thick-headed fly, Physocephala tibialis. Did it fool you? It was definitely trying to ;-))

[dendroica]

Physocephala tibialis on Flickr.