Not a bee.
I saw this little guy zipping around on aloe flowers in our back garden.
It was almost challenging me to get it on camera, and it is a Needle-nose Fly (Philoliche spiloptera), Size-12 millimeters.
Just a photography tip for you. Whenever you see a small and fast insect like this, first take a while to see the pattern of its flying. Then if it comes near a flower regularly in flight, then focus on that specific flower and wait for it to appear. Click and hope for the best as they are very fast. It is folly to try and follow its flight with a camera. Quite often they will hover near the chosen flower and that's when to get them. I use this technique when I see the fast-flying insects.
Here you can see why it is called a Needle-nose as the fly readied it to plunge it into the flower and sip the nectar.
Zooming all around, as they only sip for milliseconds.
Another example of its plunging its needle into the flower.
Right, and then it was done and it flew off without even looking at me to say thank you :)
Remember my posts about the green caterpillars in our lemon tree?
Look what popped out to sit on our donkey tail plant. Don't you see it? Have a closer look below this picture.
It was a Citrus Swallowtail Butterfly (Papilio demodocus), and I could only get these two shots of it as then it flew up and over a wall to start its new life.
Sadly, the new butterfly will only live for a few months as its main purpose is to mate and then the female, having been fertilised, lays her eggs, taking care to lay them on the right food plant for the caterpillars to eat. That is where her care for them ends, and she will almost certainly never meet her hatched offspring, as butterfly lives tend to be short.
Source: Book: Gardening for Butterflies. ISBN: 978-1-77584-124-1.
So different from our human lives, and nature has her own way in all things pertaining to it. A person may ask then what is the use for these butterflies even being born. But butterflies have many uses, as during their short lifetimes, they will pollinate many flower species. Everything in nature has a use, in one way or another to support the eco-system.
Such is life.
I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the story.
Photos by Zac Smith. All-Rights-Reserved.
Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.
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Thank you @stresskiller :)
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Wow, that's really cool. I often find flies like that but haven't been able to take a picture because my phone camera can't capture moving objects. I admire your photography skills.
A pity that you cannot get it on your phone camera.
Thank you for the compliment :)
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That is a really interesting fly, you can see why it gained it's name with that needle like structure used for feeding. Interesting that it has stripes, maybe to fool potential predators into thinking it may sting.
The butterfly is beautiful, but insects often have very short lives. At least in the adult phase as reproduction is the whole purpose. Although we may have longer lives, we too are focused on procreation, however, we have to raise our young for many long years unlike the insects that provide for themselves! lol Such is the cycle of life...
Yes, it is masquerading as a bee, to fool any predators.
Short, beautiful life's indeed, and you are right as it is all based upon the purpose of procreation. In the meantime, the butterflies also pollinate many flowers. No match can be made between the insects, or even the wildlife with regards to human procreation and children, as the purposes are completely different.
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Thank you :)
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STOPIt's funny. I saw something similar in the woods, but it was fluffy and bigger, it was Bombylius major.
I don't think that we have your one over here :)
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