Apologies for the poor pictures, but here's a little bee-mimicking robber fly, after and before catching a tiny bee for dinner. I followed this wily hunter around for quite a while, and he wasn't pleased with my interference so he didn't let me get very close.
Inaturalist tells me that both of these are quadrate snipe flies (Chrysopilus quadratus), but their coloration is very different. Does anyone know why? They both look like males, with their head-encompassing (holoptic) eyes. Is there just this much color variation, or have I mis-identified them?
A Violet Leafwalker (Chalcosyrphus chalybeus). These flies are wasp mimics. They even flick their wings the way mud-dauber wasps do. From some angles they are dark, Darth Vader black. From other angles they have the color of cobalt blue bottles.
Die Jugendlichen des Insekts des Monats @riffreporter sehen für mich aus wie Roboter mit Raketenantrieb. Schaut mal, was @SigridMaerz auf Zikadenpirsch entdeckt hat.
@NatureMC I didn’t even know #FlyFriday was a thing I’ve just been doing #FroggyFriday and #FishyFriday 😭 I’ll be sure to share more fly art this coming Friday to make up for it! 🪰 Here is a back payment in the meantime:
String of 7 fly amulets #AncientEgypt Second Intermediate Period–New Kingdom, Dynasty 17, c. 1600–1070 BCE
gold, each about 1.2 cm in length
Metropolitan Museum of Art collection: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/591147