Although wasp like in appearance, this is a thick-headed fly, Physocephala tibialis. Thanks, Tethys! This is a good opportunity to plug What’s That Bug?, a great resource for everyone, not just shutterbugs (sorry, sorry!).
Physocephala tibialis
Bugged
Pretty cool, I’ll keep an eye out here in Ohio for this fly.
It seems there’s no end to learning about all the different flies. :D
The head is a big fly’s head, legs are fly’s legs and the wings are fly’s wings, but the rest seems somewhat mix-and-match, stripey stockings and all. Nice catch.
Speaking of bugs, I spotted the first water strider of the spring on the sea last Sunday while I was swimming. That guy took an early start, the Gulf of Finland isn’t even completely ice-free yet, though the water was already 3 degrees Celcius where I was swimming and the water strider was walking on water.
EEEEE, I love watching water striders. Yes, that is serious early for one to be out doing the Jesus walk.
As for the fly, we get so many odd bugs on the prairie. Years ago, I took a photo of what I thought was a very large and strange looking fly, had rather psychedelic eyes. The wings were distinctly fly like, so I was pretty much on top of it taking pics while it drank from water beads on my beer can. Turned out it was a type of wasp.