Our Physoconops photographs were featured in The American Wildlife Federation's Field Guide to Insects 2007

Compare to : Vespid Wasp

If you've ever seen one of these flies, you'll know how the word ethereal applies to its habit.

Conopids are most frequently found at flowers, feeding on nectar with their long proboscis. This fly was photographed on a hot day in August, amongst a stand of aster and frost aster wildflowers, alive with thousands of bees, wasps, and flies of all sorts, all in competition for valuable nectar. Flies of the family Conopidae are distributed in all the zoogeographic regions except for the poles and many of the Pacific islands. About 800 species are described worldwide, approximately 67 of which are found in North America. The majority of conopids are black and yellow, or black and white, and often strikingly resemble wasps, bees, or flies of the family Syrphidae, themselves notable bee mimics. The larvae of all conopids are internal parasites, most of aculeate (stinging) Hymenoptera. Adults are said to alight and deposit eggs on their flying hosts.