Can someone please identify this for me? Was on my Eupatorium cannabinum last Summer, I think it's a hoverfly. Thought it might be Pegomia bicolor but the head doesn't quite look right. Sorry about the awful photo!
I got stung getting too close to a tree bee nest the other day. I think I caught the exact moment the bee saw her reflection in the camera lens and launched the attack. I was standing well back and using the long lens but something set it off.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
She flew straight into the lens hood and bashed into the lens a few times so I'm assuming it was the reflection that set her off. Then she attacked my eyebrow, presumably because it looked a bit like a hairy bee. I only had to gently swipe her away and move back a bit and she seemed happy with that. It hurt less than a nettle sting and the pain didn't last very long. They're probably on alert for cuckoo bees and mimic flies so anything strange coming near the nest gets repelled.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
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