Fellow steward Jennifer W, spotted this guy/gal at the end of yesterday’s hike. We both felt sure it wasn’t a bee but didn’t know how to tell. I did some research and found it is commonly called a flower fly and the way to tell it from a bee is: huge eyes, short and stubby antenna with a bristle half-way down, there is nowhere to carry pollen and finally, there is only one pair of wings. It is always great to learn something new!

I then submitted images to BugGuide.net and within a couple of hours had an answer. It is of the family Copestylum. They couldn’t be specific with species but I’m thrilled with just that information. Thanks Bug Guys!