7.21.26 McKinley Park, Chicago, IL

Today was my Mother's birthday!!! When my family and I went to McKinley Park to release a Monarch butterfly I raised from the egg and mom kindly helped out with, we saw a bunch of cool stuff. We a huge wasp-mimicking fly, tons of little assassin bugs, so many bumblebees, and a fly very good at mimicking them. Yay!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!

Clubbed Mydas Fly and Hornworm Tachinid Fly

Getting up to 2 inches (5 cm), the Clubbed Mydas Fly is one of the largest flies in easter North America! (closely related mydas flies tie with this one on the title of biggest). This one was definitely 2 inches long, but despite its dangerous wasp-like* appearance, it was just calmly sipping on nectar.

*Clubbed mydas flies are wasp mimics, which helps them get away with being big juicy songbird meals, very clunky and rather feeble.

So cool!!! And it was on my mom's birthday

Hornworm Tachinid Fly (upper left), unidentified flying insect (right of Tachinid), hidden insect (below tachinid), and Clubbed Mydas Fly (lower right)

Silver-spotted Skipper

Jagged Ambush Bug. To eat, they must first subdue smaller insects with their front legs, stab them with their tubular mouthpart, vomit into them, and suck up the half digested juices. 'Tis the way of predators with stabby straws for mouths

It is very well camoflaged. Can't go wrong with a green-and-brown wad of jagged plant matter

Common Eastern Bumble Bee

Same bee

Orange-legged Drone Fly

It's an exceptional mimic of bumble bees, with the precise body proportions, size, and behavior of a bumble bee. It also had very bumble bee-ish colors, though the orange-tipped hairs and yellow butt is unusual for local bumblers. The eyes gave it away though. Always look for those fly eyes