Mystery Insect

6/9/2014

This gorgeous unfamiliar-looking insect was hanging out in my kitchen window. I took photos and then let the little fly-fishing bug go. Perusing my "Field Guide to Insects of North America" and the online BugGuide.net...I could not figure out an ID. Size was about 2cm long and it was a hopper.

I showed the photos to my science colleagues at school, and nope-nobody had seen anything like this before...but "Hey, what a cool-looking hymenoptera!"

Has anybody out there got any idea who this little fellow is? Perhaps I've discovered a new species?
We are referring to it as the Bottle-brush Booty Bug...

2 Comments

Marisa link

6/13/2014 10:39:06 am

I think it's a male Synanthedon bibionipennis! I was just reading about how some clear-winged moths have similar flight patterns to Bombus, and had never seen one in our area! What a coincidence. My bug book says that larvae may eat beach strawberries, which you have in your parking strip garden...

Tracey link

6/13/2014 01:53:47 pm

BINGO.
Marisa, you are awesome.

and though bibionipennis (who thought of that name?) makes sense for our yard,
check out this photo of the Currant Clearwing moth-Synanthedon tipuliformis
http://ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?bf=373

It's exactly the same pose too!
but kind of out of his range...

Thank you for the ID, and as a sleuthing reward-
I've got a Celebrate Urban Birds poster for you.

Mystery Insect

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