Hoverfly

Gordon, thanks for the great info! I had another spotting of a hoverfly where I described the hovering trait...wasn`T sure about it being a bee though....guess it wasn`t afterall. Much appreciated!

This is a syrphid fly (hoverfly) not a bee. Many flies take on the appearance of more dangerous insects, such as bees and wasps, and these flies are one of those mimics. What gives this fly away as being a fly rather than a bee are the antennae. The family is Syrphidae. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoverfly for more information.