Day 6 of National Pollinator Week: Meet the Drone Fly

It's Day 6 of National Pollinator Week. Meet the drone fly (Eristalis tenax), often mistaken for a honey bee. The late Robbin Thorp, UC Davis distinguished emeritus professor of entomology, used to jokingly call it "The H Bee," pointing to the "H on its abdomen. It's not a bee, though, it's a fly. It belongs to the family Syrphidae (which includes insects commonly known as syrphids, flower flies, and hover flies) in the order, Diptera. The drone fly about the size of a honey bee. However,...