This is a beautiful picture, but it is #notabee. It is a bee-mimicking fly. There are several traits that diagnose it as a fly, but in this pic the easiest to see are the stubby little antennae. #insectThursday ๐งช #naturephotography #mimicry #batesianmimicry
Lunar Hornet Moth (Sesia bembeciformis).
Vulnerable species, like the Lunar Hornet Moth, have evolved a strategy known as Batesian mimicry to make themselves appear dangerous to predators. If I were unaware that they were totally harmless, I would choose to avoid them if I saw one.
#teammoth #mothsmatter #BatesianMimicry
Macro photo of a small orange, black, and white fly that sort of looks like a bee Canon EOS 80D ISO 100 100mm ฦ/11 1/160 s flash
Margined calligrapher fly
(Toxomerus marginatus)
These things are fast and teeny-tiny, so it took me a ton of tries to get this one decent pic. Lol
I had never seen these before. They feed on nectar, and they evolved to mimic bees in appearance ๐
#macro #hoverfly #BatesianMimicry
An insect that resembles a Bumblebee resting on the leaf of a Pear tree. The eyes have a gap between them so female. The antennae are very short so a Fly rather than a Bee.
Not a #Bumblebee but a #Hoverfly (Merodon equestris female) that has evolved to resemble one. The very small antennae are a signal. #Diptera #Entomology #BatesianMimicry
Paranthrene simulans, (Grote, 1881), a Batesian mimicry MASTER!
#educational #science #entomology #bugs #moth #wasp #insects #lepidoptera #batesianmimicry #nature
Paranthrene simulans, (Grote, 1881), a Batesian mimicry MASTER!
#educational #science #entomology #bugs #moth #wasp #insects #lepidoptera #batesianmimicry #nature
Eastern hornet fly
(Spilomyia longicornis)
Happy Fly-day!
This is a harmless, wasp-mimic.
Photographed in September, in Chicago.
#Syrphidae #flyDay #flies #insects #pollinators #bugs #nature #naturalist #macro #photography #chicago #diptera #BatesianMimicry #hornetFly
Fascinating watching a couple of female Volucella inanis wasp-mimic hoverflies lurking outside, and occasionally flying into a wasp nest in one of our old log piles, presumably to lay eggs. Once hatched, their larvae eat the developing wasp grubs...
#BatesianMimicry
