rusty
New Aurelian
Posts: 2
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Post by rusty on Sept 2, 2019 15:16:49 GMT
Hi guys. I'm struggling to find anything online that resembles what I found in England on a sunny September day. Anyone know what it is? Image: ibb.co/hR7ybQwThanks. |
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Post by Paul K on Sept 2, 2019 15:50:18 GMT
Hi guys. I'm struggling to find anything online that resembles what I found in England on a sunny September day. Anyone know what it is? Image: ibb.co/hR7ybQwThanks. It is a fly mimicking a wasp |
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rusty
New Aurelian
Posts: 2
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Post by rusty on Sept 2, 2019 15:55:29 GMT
Hi guys. I'm struggling to find anything online that resembles what I found in England on a sunny September day. Anyone know what it is? Image: ibb.co/hR7ybQwThanks. It is a fly mimicking a wasp Thanks for the info, I wasn't aware they do that. Interesting! |
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Post by isidro on Sept 2, 2019 17:14:13 GMT
Protective mimicry, or in more technical words, aposematism, is one of the basics of the insect world. Zillions of species of flies as well as moths, beetles and others mimicks wasps (an interesting evolutive advantage: if a bird catch a wasp and is stung, they learn to avoid insects with similar appareance in the future). In the hoverfly family (Syrphidae), to which your specimen belongs, most of the species are mimics, and many even mimic precise species of wasps and bees. Your individual it's Volucella zonaria, one of the most beautiful and bigger of the hoverflies, and still relatively common in many places. As child, I loved to catch zonarias in my garden for hear the funny sound they make with the thorax muscles when captured  |
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Post by nomad on Sept 2, 2019 19:21:23 GMT
The Hornet Hoverfly Volucella zonaria mimics the European Hornet Vespa crabro. Many hoverflies mimic wasps.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Nov 15, 2019 16:22:52 GMT
There is also a whole family of flies (Serphidae) which resemble small bees, if you are interested.They are good pollinators too!
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Post by nomad on Nov 15, 2019 17:28:00 GMT
Do you mean the Serphidae (Hymenoptera) small wasps? I can nothing under flies/ Diptera for that family, if there is, can you give a link to where they are mentioned? Syrphidae are very good pollinators, as well as are a host of other Diptera from many families.
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Post by Adam Cotton on Nov 15, 2019 19:12:07 GMT
Perhaps @jfarr means Syrphidae (hoverflies) rather than the very similar name Serphidae.
Adam.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2019 15:02:52 GMT
Sorry.Syrphidae
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Post by nomad on Nov 17, 2019 12:14:35 GMT
Syrphidae are one of my favourite fly families, along with a few other families, the soldier-flies Stratiomyidae and especially of late the flat footed flies Platypezidae. I Keep being asked why I got into Diptera by puzzled Lepidopterists, I can only reply that they were something new, so diverse, and exciting to see, and photograph in the field. However, my interest in Lepidoptera, especially historical figures who collected them remains undiminished, and to a certain extent many of those also studied the Coleoptera, which I also find interesting.
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