Hyperechia marshalli

A Carpenter Bee Mimic - Robber Fly

Carpenter bees are cuter than the average bee for a couple of reasons. Firstly they are often bigger than european honey bees and secondly they are normally much furrier. There are a group of predatory flies called robber flies (family Asilidae), some of which would happily make a meal of a carpenter bee irregardless of how cute they happen to be to our eyes. One particular robber fly species Hyperechia marshalli (the carpenter bee robber fly) has a remarkable adaptation for avoiding detection by their hapless carpenter bee prey until it's too late. The carpenter bee robber fly mimics the color pattern, general shape and overall hairiness of its prey so it can fly in and capture it. Once the carpenter bee robber fly has a hold of its prey it then proceeds to use its proboscis to inject its enzyme-rich saliva to liquidfy the insides of the bee before sucking the digested bits of bee right back out again via the same proboscis. - Thanks to 'Hub Pages'

Carpenter Bee Robber Fly from South Africa eats Wasp!

Ronnie sr caught this one 'red-handed' nex to the school's swimming pool this morning, and believe it or not, he shot this with his iPhone! Magnificent, don't you agree?

I discovered this similar image on the net as well! But I must admit, I think Ronnie's image is a better one! ;-o