American hoverfly imitates wasp

This video from the USA says about itself:

16 September 2017

The Virginia Flower Fly or Yellow Jacket Hover Fly (Milesia virginiensis) is a bizarre fly that looks like a big scary hornet. In the south, it is sometimes called the ‘good news bee‘ for its habit of hovering in front of a person “giving the news”. It is also said to be good luck if one can get the insect to perch on a finger, no doubt because this is difficult to do.

It mimics the southern yellowjacket as a defense mechanism – that works really well because when you see one of these you don’t want to mess with it. I have only caught fleeting glimpses of this strange fly over the years, but here caught in the open on the deck it is making an aggressive hornet stand – lucky for it I know its secret.

Despite its looks -once you realize what it is you should remember it is actually an important pollinator of flowers and not dangerous at all. Enjoy one of the more unique disguise adoptions of Nature and let them “Bee” – maybe they’ll bring you luck.

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