Backyard and Beyond

This hairy, burly flier certainly suggests a bumble bee head-butting her way into the nectar and pollen.But, taking it from the top, the characteristic eyes of a fly let us know that this is a bee-mimicking fly. In addition, the two wings literally point to Diptera, the order of flies, named after their two wings. Bees have four wings (paired, they can be hard to separate by eye). The Narcissus Bulb Fly (Merodon equestris) introduced into North America from Europe in the mid 19th century, probably in bulbs…. The larva eat out the bulbs of narcissus, amaryllis, daffodils, etc.