Mydas fly (Mydas clavatus)

[Goliathus]

A large Mydas Fly (Mydas clavatus) that I found today.  I see these flies every summer, usually around wood piles.  The larvae live in rotting wood or rich organic soil, where they are predatory on scarab beetle larvae.  The adults (which mimic spider wasps such as Anoplius spp.) have an iridescent blue-black sheen to the wings, and flash bright orange abdominal markings when startled.  This specimen is rather large for a US species, but some South American forms, such as Gauromydas heros, are even larger, and are among the biggest flies in the world.

 

[davehuth]

WOW! These are listed for NY state but I have yet to come across one. It would make my summer! I scrutinize every mud dauber wasp just to make sure I'm not being fooled 😄

[Ratmosphere]

So rad man. The content you've been putting out lately is incredible!

[Goliathus]

On 6/23/2019 at 6:43 AM, davehuth said:

WOW! These are listed for NY state but I have yet to come across one. It would make my summer! I scrutinize every mud dauber wasp just to make sure I'm not being fooled 😄

Speaking of flies, the giant Timber Flies (family Pantophthalmidae) from S. Amer. are also quite impressive.  Apart from being some of the largest flies in the world, their larvae are very strange - they are wood borers in live trees, and look very different from typical fly larvae; morphologically they actually have more in common with the larvae of longhorn beetles.  The adult flies are short-lived and don't feed at all - 

15 hours ago, Ratmosphere said:

So rad man. The content you've been putting out lately is incredible!

I'm sure I'll have more to show, as the season goes on - very wet, humid summer this year, with even more insects than usual.