I was checking on my top-bar hive last weekend when I spotted this creature sitting on the roof, right in the midst of much honey bee activity. As far as I can tell, this is a type of bee fly—a fly that mimics the appearance of a bee. It stayed there long enough for me to run inside, get my camera, and click through a couple of shots. Then it was gone and I haven’t seen anything like it since. The fly was larger than a honey bee in both directions and was not at all skittish, in spite of its fly eyes.
Rusty
Bee fly visiting the top-bar hive. Photo by the author.
That is a beautiful little creature. I’ve never seen one quite like that, here in Idaho. Thank you for the pic.
Neither have I! Up here in N Idaho i have not witnessed many mimics.