Flower Fly

You're quite welcome Cheryl and thanks for posting your photo; I enjoyed it very much.

I learned something new today, thank you so much Gordon!!

Found a likely candidate for you. See my suggestion. What a lovely fly! I've never seen one and you did a great job in getting both a front and side view! Makes offering an ID suggestion much easier than a single view. Nice spotting!

Cheryl, Mimicry in the insect world is common as I'm sure you are aware. Many rather defenseless insects often have colors that mimic more dangerous prey and this is an excellent example. This is a fly, probably a flower fly (hoverfly) mimicking the coloration and pattern of a bald-faced hornet. Notice the paddle type short antennae that are so prevalent in the fly family. The fact that we humans misidentify them is a sure sign of how effective their mimicry succeeds. I'll take a look around and see if I can help you narrow your ID. Be back soon with a suggestion. Nice photos by the way; cool subject!