Wednesday, March 24, 2010

promised bud, new spp to me and mystery bee-thing...

      
The Dichelostemma capitatum (bluedicks) bud I promised...



As always, looks MUCH better big.

Dove's-foot geranium, Geranium molle, a new one for me. 


Thanks to CalPhotos (calphotos.berkeley.edu) and http://www.birdmom.net/wildflowerindex.html for chucking me clues.
And now for a pollen covered bug I have an urge to hug...



It was fun to watch it bumble around, moving like a bumper car.


And now, the mystery insect. It appeared as I was taking pics of poppy/bluedicks.


Looks v. bee like and I KNOW I've seen something like this before, but I cannot find it in my books... And I cannot find my Powell and Hogue's California Insects book, drat it all... 


ooh, just figured out it's probably a male bee fly (family = Bombyliidae)? Pics are NOT sharp, darn it, but they're all I have. It was flying, after all... =)



Here you can start to see the LONG legs...




Best view of face. Guessing male 'cause it looks like the eyes are connected, but it's not super sharp, and the head looks flattened on top...




Best view of super long legs and proboscis...



Bee bailing.



Bye!

So, can any of you folks confirm or deny my guess? Sierran foothills is locale (Hite Cove Trail). I realize a serious i.d. is not possible due to mobility of creature, lack of focused view of wings, etc.

Anyhow, it was a very exciting and unexpected visit by a cool creature.

the biobabbler

2 comments:

  1. Definitely a Bee Fly. They're notoriously hard to get pictures of, they never stop moving! I tried and failed miserably on several occasions last spring to get good pictures of several I had found near our corn field.

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  2. Great. Thanks for the confirmation. SUCH a cool creature, I'm just psyched I got to see it, but yes, it'd be AWfully nice to get a clear picture. Ah, well. =)

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Cool people write inside rectangles....