.ryzst

gallery

This quarter inch long Bee Fly (Lordotus junceus or a close relative) is a vegetarian despite the needle-like beak. It's actually more like a duck's beak and when closed, like in this side view, is pushed down into a flower and sucks up nectar like a thin straw. In daylight, the front end of this fly looked black, but using a ring flash for this shot, more detail came out. Bee Flys are a large, but poorly studied family and are common throughout the world. Taken near Anza, California.