Thick-headedness

September 12, 2017  •  Leave a Comment

When I spotted this possible wasp working the Jewelweed leaves by the Assekonk Swamp, I realized, fairly fast, that it was actually a fly doing a fine job of mimicking a hymenopteran. But when I started to try to determine precisely which kind of dipteran it might be, I ran into trouble. My initial guess, of course, was to figure that it had to be a member of the Syrphidae, the Flower Fly family of great wasp and bee mimics. But an hour, however pleasant and time-wasting—I really had other things to do—spent mining my keys and Internet resources for an identification didn't get me very close to taxonomic Nirvana, and I was beginning to despair of ever figuring this one out. Then, however, I got lucky and discovered that I was looking in the wrong place. It wasn't a Flower Fly after all, but, rather, a member of the Conopidae, a.k.a., the Thick-headed Flies. The weird antennae offered the proper clue, and before long, I landed in the genus Physocephala, where species tibialis looked just about right. Sometimes being thick-headed has its rewards... well, natural history rewards.


Comments

No comments posted.
Loading...

Archive
January (12) February March April (20) May (31) June (30) July (31) August (28) September October (18) November (18) December
January (1) February March April May June July August September October November December
January February March April May June July August September October November December
January February March April May June July August September October November December
January February March April May June July August September October November December