Exactly Atul. Flies are eaten by just about everything. They can't eliminate predation by other insects or birds, but they can reduce the incidence of predation by making a would be predator think about if they are really willing to tackle something that looks like a wasp. Yes, this hover fly (Syrphid) is mimicking a yellow jacket.
Nice photos. Love the rich colors....
Do you notice the short, paddle-type antennae? Those are indicative of a fly rather than a wasp. What you have here is a Syrphid Fly (Syrphidae). It is a wasp mimic, so its coloration and markings have worked!
For more information, you might want to check out these pages starting here: http://bugguide.net/node/view/196/bgimage. These are North American Syrphid Flies, but some of these species I'm sure range across the northern hemisphere.
Comments (12)