this post was submitted on 13 Jul 2025
17 points (94.7% liked)

What Is This Bug?

83 readers
2 users here now

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

this thing buzzed past me like a hummingbird and then sat on my raised bed wall for a while. the wood it's sitting on is roughly 1 inch wide. bug was about 2 inches long. what is?

all 7 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] TabbsTheBat@pawb.social 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] ianfraserkrillmaster@midwest.social 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

that looks about right, thank you!

[–] Dagamant@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Those are pretty cool. It looks like the adults are nectar feeders and larva predate grubs in dead logs/trees. They tend to be large with the biggest looking like this:

my favorite thing i read about them on wikipedia following the ID was that not only does their coloration mimic a spider hawk wasp, they also reportedly fly around poking things with their harmless butts, presumably so that potential predators are convinced of their waspitude.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mydas_clavatus?wprov=sfti1#Biology

[–] nokturne213@sopuli.xyz 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

According to Seek, it is a clubbed mydas fly.

Party on Garth