zoologicallyobsessed:

naturesalchemist:

What bee is that?

This isn’t actually a bee. It’s actually not even in the order hymenoptera but rather from diptera (the flies) from the genus Helophilus and are hoverflies.

You can tell they are diptera rather then in the order hymenoptera (which includes bees, wasps and sawflies) because it only has two wings and diptera derived from the greek meaning “two wings”

Another good way to tell them apart is the eyes. It’s not a guarantee, but hoverflies and beeflies, both of which often resemble bees, tend to have larger eyes than bees do.