Thick-headed Flies

When I saw one two days ago in Mary's echinacea patch, I hesitated and didn't reach in far enough to get a photograph. Today, I threw caution to the wind (literally) and just barged right in. Boy, did I catch some action!

As I snapped these two insects mating, I assumed they were wasps or hornets. Just look at their shape, and you might well think the same thing. But my friend Jill corrected me (again): they're Thick-headed Flies.

Nothing I can say is half so good as this: "Conopids are most frequently found at flowers, feeding on nectar with their long proboscis. This wonderful contraption resembles the spout on the old railroad trackside water towers used during the Steam Era, and the boom used in mid-air refueling operations, albeit with a sucking mechanism instead of offloading."

Oh how I love Cirrusimage.com and the clever mimicry of the Thick-headed Flies.