For the identification of insects and other fauna and flora of South Africa.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Wooly Bee Fly (Systoechus) Bombyliidae

These are Wolly Bee Flies. The flowers they are on are about 3-5mm and these flies are very small, maybe 5-7mm at most.

Usually all I get is this......
....but today must be my lucky day as I got this....
...and this.....



then.......
....and....LOL!!

44 comments:

Firefly the Travel Guy said...

I have never seen one of these, but it looks like a truly interesting fly to find and photograph. You just want to catch him and blow him.

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Joan: If I ever saw one of these I think I would laugh. What a strange fly.

Tony nile life said...

Never seen one before looks like it needs 8 legs to keep its balance What do locals think of you taking macro. I know these local farmers think I am quite bonkers getting on all fours to observe the smaller creatures we share this planet with.
I did a story a while back on one of these strange creatures who thought there was a massive fly in his field he was so scared seeing the bug in macro on the camera screen,

Andrea said...

Wow!
Joan!
Such a great serie!
Wonderful shots.
(and the insect is really funny...)

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

You probably have them in your garden Jonker but they are so small you have just not noticed them ... in anycase, who looks at flies anyway!! LOL!!

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

LOL!! It is a strange one Tom.

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

LOL!! Don't worry Tony, everyone thinks the same baout me but I mostly ignore them. :) As a matter for fact, it is nice being thought a bit crazy, it makes people wonder what I am up to. LOL!!

Thats a great story too!! :)

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

Thanks Andrea. I was so happy to find this and very excited to see the pictures come out so well. They are no easy to get so I was very pleased with myself. :)

Craver Vii said...

What a remarkable little thing! Outstanding macros, Joan... these pics are so detailed, I would have thought the bee fly to be much bigger.

Gaelyn said...

Wow Joan, you got very lucky, or is it that bug-eye you have. Such a tiny and amazing fly. Your macros show amazing detail.

14 days left.

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

Thanks Craver. A very cute little thing and I have been trying for so long to get pics of it. So here is another example why we all need to pat ourselves on the back occasionally. :)

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

Thanks Gaelyn. This was VERY lucky!! They move so fast from one flower to the next and I usually do not even have time to focus before they have moved on

Yes, my friend, I am counting the days too and you will not believe how I am looking forward to this trip.

Anonymous said...

I'm thinking you had a very lucky day w/ these shots! WoW! They're incredible & I love the fuzz on him - He's so cuuute!

Becky said...

This is a darling little fellow! I've never heard of them either, just an African insect maybe?

Anonymous said...

If I get to be ninty, me thinks my butt would look like that in the first photo too, LOL! I have those "bee mimics" here too. Your lucky to have gotten such good photos of that one, usually they do not stay still long enough for as good a shots as those you have taken.

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

Hello Tricia. I was indeed lucky with these.:)

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

Hello Becky. No, you have them there too but as with most insects, most people do not notice them. They are tiny too so go unnoticted very easily. :)

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

LOL!! Your butt could never be so pretty Ken. LOL!! Thanks, I was so excited to get this series as I had ben trying for so long to get shots of one of them. The flower it is on are those small yellow ones you find in grass patches. Okay, you are not in trouble anymore. LOL!!

Wendy said...

What an interesting creature! I'm gonna go read about them right now, lol.

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

LOL!! A pretty cute little thing don't you think? It migh make a good model for a cuddly toy too. :)

Unknown said...

Joan, you seriously ROCK! These photos are nothing short of spectacular!

What a cute little guy!

Mary said...

This is just so cool! A big fuzz ball with wings! What a neat critter this is!

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

Thank you for your kind words Krista!! That is very generous of you!!

Or should I still call you Penny? :)

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

LOL!! LOVE your description Mary!! :)

Unknown said...

Anything but late for dinner, Joan! haha!

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

LOL!! NEVER!! Well maybe, I am a bad cook !! LOL!! I always say I answer to anything including 'hey you'. :)

Becky said...

This is one cute little fly. Oh did I say that? Anyway he really is cute, and what awesome pictures you got. From behind he looks like a spent dandilion.
B,

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

Thanks Becky. At least we have to admit that SOME flies are cute. :)

LOL!! He does look like a dandilion!! I never thought of that one. :)

Rambling Woods said...

Now that is an interesting little thing and I guess he heard that you are an ambassador for the insect world so he was happy to have his photos taken....Michelle

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

I guess you are right Michelle. They dont normally stay around that log so this one must have had a reason. :)

Unknown said...

haha... I'd even answer to "hey you"... for a *good* cook. :oP

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

LOL!! Well my family survived on it although I am not sure how. LOL!!

Unknown said...

This guy looks so cool! And my favourite shot is the one you allways get... Really cute seen from behind! :-)))

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

LOL!! I have to admit it is a cute butt!! :) Thanks Jose.

Mingfei said...

What a lovely insect! Great shots! The species in Beijing have longer mouth. They can be found in Botanical Garden.

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

Hello Mingfei. Wonderful to hear from you again. I hope the sudies are going well.

Thanks, this was a great find and I was so pleased the pictures came out well. If you have any pictures of yours, please post them for me to see but I know they are not easy to get. :)

Mingfei said...

I have pics but they were created by cellphone because my camera was out of power at that time. So the quality of the pictures is poor...

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

No problem Mingfei. Maybe sometime you will get some better ones and then post then so that I can see them.

Craig Glenn said...

Wooly Bee Fly! LOL Really?

Yea ok!

What are you selling now J?

Just kidding, what a great capture Joan. The bug lady at her best!

Craig

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

LOL!! See how good I have got at claymations? :)

Thanks Craig. This is just the cutest little critter!! Looks like one I would like to hug but it is so tiny I would end up squashing it. LOL!!

Zane said...

I have been bitten by the macro bug too. What equipment are you using? I found a furry fly in my garden recently (Port Elizabeth) and managed a macro or two.

See http://zanephotoblog.blogspot.com/

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

I saw the picture of it Zane and it is the same as this one.

Once you get started in this kind of photography, there is no end to it. This is such a fascinating world I am finding myself in!!

Most of these macro shots are taken with a small P&S believe it or not. I did get a Canon 400D and a 100mm macro lens but almost never use it as I do not like the DOF it gives me. The greatest thing to remember with macro is that you have to be 100% steady in focusing else you get a blur which is more noticable than in other kinds of photography.

A lot of people use a tripod to help them but I find it quite useless as insects land in all kinds of odd spots.

Zane said...

Thank you for the reply Joan. I am astounded by the images that you take with a P&S. I use a Raynox DCR 250 macro lens with a Panasonic DMC FZ50 for my macro work. Will try my tiny Olympus FE3010 for macro's as an interesting aside.

PS. Check out the Raynox lens - I acquired mine on WantitAll for R900 or less. It is a very popular lens and has a large user pool on Flickr.

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

You are welcome Zane. Not all P&S cameras are capable of these kind of shots. When I wanted to buy one, I naturally went for Canon and I have always been a fan of the brand but was extremely disappointed at the results. I took it back to the shop and explained what I was looking for and was shocked when the salesman recommended a Kodak. WHAT!! THAT was the bottom of the range!! Nevertheless, he convinced me to try it for a week and I am SO happy with it and would recommend it to anyone and buy another if something goes wrong with this one. It is small enough for me to take anywhere and I am never without it.

Thanks for the info on the Raynox, I will check it out. Sounds like a good buy.