Black Soldier Fly

You're not the only one! I caught one of these for a university entomology class. While alive, its behavior also mimicked a wasp, it had jerky movements and waved it's antennae in a very wasp-like way. I caught it very carefully, expecting to get stung. It wasn't until it was pinned and I had a chance to examine it more closely that I realized it only had one pair of wings and was actually a fly! They are amazing creatures and really kind of pretty when you examine them up close.

Thanks for the ID oxyjack. :) I've always been a little scared of these, thinking they were some kind of wasp. So glad to see they're harmless, and perhaps beneficial to have in the garden.

This fly is in the same genus as the North American Black Soldier Fly, Hermetia. The only species in Indonesia is Hermetia latreille, but there are 4 subspecies, and I don't know which subspecies this is.

http://www.papua-insects.nl/insect%20ord...