clubbed mydas fly

clubbed mydas fly (Mydas clavatus)

FEATURES
This large (about one inch in length), black fly has an orange-to-red band on its abdomen. The antennae have four segments, and the furthest segment from the body is enlarged. The tarsi have two pads. The top of the head has a depression between the eyes.

BEHAVIORS
The larvae live in soil or decaying wood and eat the larvae of scarab beetles. Adults feed on flower nectar. Found statewide, this species is a mimic of spider wasps. It lives in woodlands, fields and gardens.

​Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Insecta

Order: Diptera 

Family: Mydidae