Copestylum mexicanum

Crumby could have sworn he already took this fly’s picture. Yet when he looked in the Diptera file, no similar fly was to be found there, or anywhere. So it’s a good thing Crumby got a new picture of this fly because the former image is lost, maybe. But a new picture obviates the need for hiring a tracker Druid to find the lost image.

This fly is bigger than it looks. Hmm. Well you know that flower it’s on is Eupatorium incarnatum which is a mighty small flower. So this fly only looks big while it’s flying about or around. The fact is, when this particular fly is on the wing, it favors a carpenter bee. That’s right. You could easily assume this fly is a carpenter bee unless you espy it quiescent.

The common name of this fly is Mexican cactus fly. That’s because the babies or maggots purportedly eat rotting cactus pads. And what do we associate with Mexico? Did you guess, cactus? Correct. Mexico is noted for a great amount of cactus or cacti. Hence, Mexican cactus fly.

Yet as everyone knows, Red does not allow any cactus at the CB. That’s because once upon a time Red got a new pair of Gortex lined hiking boots. But the first day Red had those boots, some dern old cactus thorns poked those boots through, severely. Then, lo and behold, the rains came. The rain fell for 40 days and forty nights. Anon, mass quantities of cold rain water seeped through the cactus holes made in the waterproof Gortex liners in Red’s boots.

That’s it. I shall banish cactus from the Cow Barn forever. Also, I shall never waste any more hard earned money on such foolishness as Gortex boot liners

But the neighbors have cactus. And probably, much of the cactus in these parts is rotting. Which explains why Mexican cactus flies occur at the CB even when we have no cactus.

All righty. One more comment on this particular fly. According to some, Copestylum mexicanum is the largest of the North American hoover flies. Hoover fly is another name for Syrphid flies or hover flies. Druids prefer the common name, Hoover.