A friend of mine recently convinced me to buy a legacy fully manual macro lens over the critically acclaimed newfangled Olympus 60mm f/2.8 macro lens. Â The cost of the legacy lens was less than a quarter of the price of a new Olympus, and I’ve been having a lot of fun with it. Â Above is one of my favorite shots so far.
A reward for the first person to correctly identify the species by leaving a reply below. Â Hint: the photo was taken in Berkeley, California.
June 18, 2014 at 21:48
Bald Faced Hornet (Dolichovespula maculata)?
June 20, 2014 at 00:48
Close! Hint: I think this species has evolved to visually mimic stinging insects like the bald faced hornet.
June 21, 2014 at 10:54
Well — it clearly fooled me. How about the Hover Fly (Eupeodes volucris)?
June 22, 2014 at 09:38
I think it’s certainly a hover fly/flower fly (family Syrphidae), but I had originally identified it as Scaeva pyrastri . What do you think?
June 22, 2014 at 14:38
yeah — i think you win:
http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/9066035
Scaeva pyrastri Habitat: UC Berkeley Botanical Gardens, Old Rose Garden, Berkeley, CA.
June 22, 2014 at 17:45
The thing that throws me off is the shape of the abdomen – the one in my picture seems to be narrower and more curved than in the pictures online. The shapes of the white markings aren’t exactly the same either, but I think Scaeva is a little closer than Eupeodes. Let’s leave it here for now, unless anyone else has a clearer identification.
Thanks for playing! I’ll email you for instructions on how to receive your award.