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Golden dung fly

Scathophaga stercoraria

Photo by drP
Published on Project Noah
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37.3587, -77.8862

Field Notes

Description:

At the time I took this picture, I was much more interested in IDing the flower (Nemophila menziesii). The insect looks kind of like a robber fly to me, though it seems much more interested in nectar than insects. It has quite a proboscis to reach deep into the flower.

Reference Links:

Species Scathophaga stercoraria - Golden Dung Fly - BugGuide.Net

Species ID Suggestions

Golden Dung Fly

Scathophaga stercoraria

Reference Link
BugEric
2

Comments (3)
drP
Thanks, BugEric. Is it unusual for them to feed on plants like this? Or is something else going on? I added a second picture to show the fly from another angle; unfortunately, the plant is in better focus than the animal.
drP
Thanks, ForestDragon. The flower is about an inch across, so the fly is about half an inch long.
ForestDragon
I've started looking to try and ID this fly. No luck so far. It is not a Robberfly (as you noticed the behavior). The body is not quite right for a Robberfly either. What was it's size?
Photographed
PublishedMarch 20, 2013

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