Mock-stinging-display

Guides

Mydas clavatus
Clubbed Mydas Fly
Mydas clavatus is a large, striking mydas fly native to temperate eastern North America. Adults are notable Batesian mimics of spider wasps, displaying bold behavior enabled by their wasp-like appearance. The species is distinguished by a prominent orange to red abdominal marking and clubbed antennae—a trait shared across the genus. Adults are active in mid-summer and have been documented visiting diverse flowering plants for nectar.
Batesian-mimicry wasp-mimic pollinator woodboring-predator Mydidae Diptera eastern-North-America mid-summer nectar-feeder scarab-beetle-predator clubbed-antennae orange-abdominal-marking spider-wasp-mimic harmless conspicuous bold-behavior mock-stinging-display heart-rot-habitat Osmoderma-predator flowering-plant-visitor large-fly glabrate-body temperate-forest meadow garden-visitor deciduous-woodland