Bees fly and bee flies fly too

Bee fly

The fake bees are here, too. Currently I’m seeing fairly big ones, about the size of a honeybee, but their buzz sounds more like a whine. They look just enough like bees to fool you as they stroll around the flowers, but when they land — no way! That’s a fly.

I think these are Narcissus bulb fly. Most of the syrphid flies I see are pollinators and predators, but these guys are total freeloaders. They hatch from the daffodil bulbs and do their little bit of fly business before laying eggs again. No wonder I see a few more every year.