So I noticed this bug outside on our porch today. It hovers like a hummingbird, looks like a large funny bee, has a flying noise similar to a mosquito at a lower pitch and is trying to suck nectar out of the wall.
Give up?
So do I...
But Wes says it is probably some sort of true fly that looks and acts like a bee. Interesting.
From Wes:
ReplyDeleteYour insect appears to be a true fly (order Diptera) in the family Bombylidae (bee flies). It's hard to say more based on the picture, but it may be in genus Bombylius, Systoechus, or Anastoechus. Anastoechus species are supposedly very abundant in the southwest during late summer. These flies feed on nectar (hence the long feeding organ) as adults, but as larvae they parasitize/prey upon other insects. They are known as quick fliers which hover at flowers, not unlike a hummingbird.