Broad-banded Hornet Fly
When I spotted this insect feeding on a buttonbush flower I thought it was a species of wasp I hadn't photographed before. But I scrolled through all the bee and wasp species in the bug guide and didn't find it until I got to the look-alike section and found it was actually a syrphid fly. When I looked it up in iNaturalist I found it was a rarely seen syrphid fly. They didn't have any observations for it in southeast Kansas so I uploaded it to iNaturalist so I could expand the range of observations, my contribution to science today. Anyway, it's a cool new addition for my prairie bug and spider species set.
Some species info: www.inaturalist.org/taxa/133098-Spilomyia-alcimus
Broad-banded Hornet Fly
When I spotted this insect feeding on a buttonbush flower I thought it was a species of wasp I hadn't photographed before. But I scrolled through all the bee and wasp species in the bug guide and didn't find it until I got to the look-alike section and found it was actually a syrphid fly. When I looked it up in iNaturalist I found it was a rarely seen syrphid fly. They didn't have any observations for it in southeast Kansas so I uploaded it to iNaturalist so I could expand the range of observations, my contribution to science today. Anyway, it's a cool new addition for my prairie bug and spider species set.
Some species info: www.inaturalist.org/taxa/133098-Spilomyia-alcimus