I captured a picture of this large fly last week. I wanted to be able to ask my entomologist friend what kind of bug this was. I have a friend that goes to Church with us who is a real entomologist.
So there we were, two church ladies geeking out over a picture of a bug. It is a little comical in my mind. :)
She said I had captured a really nice picture. The insect was definitely not a wasp. She didn't know the common name, but she told me it was a type of pollinator fly. You can even seen pollon or perhaps flower petals stuck to the fly's feet.
After some Google searching I found that this fly is a Mydas fly. They lay their eggs around dead wood and stumps. The larva eat grubs and larvae of other bugs that feed on rotting wood, including June Bug grubs. Which makes sense of why I found this fly by a tree stump. It was quite determined to stay by that stump. Every time a I frightened it away it came back in a short time.
Mydas flies are believed to feed only on nectar as adults.
They are very large, for a fly. The one I saw was about and 1 1/4" I am guessing. They have unusually shaped antenna, for a fly. I noticed how the antenna have a little lump at the tip, like a butterfly antenna.
Further reading on Mydas flies:
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