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Project Noah Nature School
Scathophaga stercoraria
At the time I took this picture, I was much more interested in IDing the flower (Nemophila menziesii). The insect looks kind of like a robber fly to me, though it seems much more interested in nectar than insects. It has quite a proboscis to reach deep into the flower.
Thanks, BugEric. Is it unusual for them to feed on plants like this? Or is something else going on? I added a second picture to show the fly from another angle; unfortunately, the plant is in better focus than the animal.
Thanks, ForestDragon. The flower is about an inch across, so the fly is about half an inch long.
I've started looking to try and ID this fly. No luck so far. It is not a Robberfly (as you noticed the behavior). The body is not quite right for a Robberfly either. What was it's size?
Spotted on Apr 20, 2009
Submitted on Mar 20, 2013
+2
