I found this creature crawling up the inside of a paper lawn waste bag last weekend. At first I thought it was a small bumblebee. Then I took a closer look at the head. Definitely a fly’s noggin.A little digging on Google revealed that this is indeed a fly and relatively harmless (as flies go). It’s one of a number of species of Great Bulb Flies (Merodon equestris). They’re very fond of narcissus bulbs (hence the name) and will lay eggs on any exposed bulb, where 100 or so younglings will feed once they hatch.
This fella allowed me to take several very closeup shots before he decided it would be best to fly away.
Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2008 James Jordan.
1 comment:
James what a neat shot.
I would have said an cross breding of a fly and a bee. Maybe you could call it a "flee"
Sorry, my attempt at humor.
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