Sphecomyia-brevicornis

Guides

• Sphecomyia brevicornis

  Short-horned Yellowjacket Fly

  Sphecomyia brevicornis is a species of syrphid fly (flower fly) notable for its striking mimicry of yellowjacket wasps. It belongs to a small genus of wasp-mimicking flies that exhibit exceptional morphological convergence with vespid wasps. The species was described by Osten Sacken in 1877. Its specific epithet 'brevicornis' refers to the relatively short antennae compared to related species.

  mimicrySyrphidaeDipterawaspsyellowjacket-mimicflower-flyEristalinaeMilesiiniNorth-AmericaSphecomyiabrevicornisOsten-Sacken-1877Short-horned-Yellowjacket-FlySphecomyia-brevicornis