Greater Bee Fly
As has happened in previous years , this spring I saw quite a few of these small insects flying, often hovering, around the ground at Sourland Mountain Preserve. I suspect they're Large Bee-flies (aka Greater Bee Flies aka Dark-edged Bee-flies), a species of fly that: Resembles a bee. As larva, they parasitize the larva of solitary bees and wasps. Their fuzzy, striped appearance probably has 2 benefits: Looking a little like a bee, the females may be able to inconspicuously lay their eggs around the nests of bees/wasps. Some predators might avoid attacking them thinking that they're bees who can sting, as opposed to the relatively defenseless flies that they actually are. I suspect I see them at Sourland hovering over a dirt trail because a fair number of bees/wasps dig little nests in the ground, and these bee flies are hoping to find such a nest, flick some eggs in the vicinity of the nest, and then fly off. They are considered hypermetamophic , a big fancy word indicating t...