If you've ever seen one of these flies, you'll know how the word ethereal applies to its habit.
The above specimen is only about 10mm - much smaller than the individual pictured below, which is about 15mm.

Conopids are most frequently found at flowers, feeding on nectar with their long proboscis. This wonderful contraption resembles the spout on the old railroad trackside water towers used during the Steam Era, and the boom used in mid-air refueling operations, albeit with a sucking mechanism instead of offloading. 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.

Thick-headed Fly - Physocephala tibialis   15mm

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