Keely Davies

Colored Pencil, Duralene/Dura-lar Ha! These guys are just wannabees! Syrphidae is a fly family, which specializes in mimicking members of Hymenoptera (bees and wasps). This is an example of Batesian mimicry, in which an organism is trying to mimic a harmful organism. We’ve got plenty of wannabees here in California and they are usually pretty convincing. It’s difficult to determine what is and isn’t a bee, as they buzz around and all you see is the blur of black and yellow stripes. But if they land for long enough you may be able to count their wings and see through their disguise! It doesn’t matter how great the mimicry is; bees have 4 wings and flies have 2!

Species List: Allograpta obliqua, Copestylum mexicanum, Syrphus ribesii, Sphaerophoria contigua, Sphecomyia vittata, Volucella bombylans, Eristalis tenax, and Apis mellifera