Subject:  Stained glass wings
Geographic location of the bug:  Ellicott City, Maryland
Date: 10/04/2019
Time: 08:20 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Shortly after replacing our aluminum siding and roofing last month (September)  I noticed this insect sunning itself on the third story window ledge.  Can you please help identify it?  Thanks!
How you want your letter signed:  Dee

Picture Winged Fly

Dear Dee,
This Fly is Delphinia picta, one of the Picture Winged Flies in the family Ulidiidae.

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Subject:  Identify please
Geographic location of the bug:  Northern Illinois
Date: 08/02/2019
Time: 12:48 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  The big in the picture seems to always have its wings in an open position and so far have never seen more then one or tow in a location. Any help be very appreciated!
How you want your letter signed:  T

Picture Winged Fly

Dear T,
This is a Picture Winged Fly, Delphinia picta, and according to BugGuide:  “Breeds in decaying organic matter, such as compost.”

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Subject:  Turkey Bug
Geographic location of the bug:  Brewster, NY
Date: 10/01/2018
Time: 11:30 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  This little creature was strutting around atop a car showing off its wings, turkey style! The wings were perfectly perpendicular to its back side. I’d say the insect’s total length was approximately 1/4 inch. The eyes were red-orange and the body consisted of black and white speckling.
It was found in a parking lot with nearby landscaping including ornamental trees and shrubs. Deciduous forest located not too far off. Home Depot is also nearby and I know the shipments of plants both harbor and attract many insect species, some invasive.  Hopefully this fellow is a native!
How you want your letter signed:  Emeline

Peacock Fly

Dear Emeline,
We are enthralled with your description of your encounter with Callopistromyia annulipes, one of the Picture Winged Flies in the family Ulidiidae which we identified on BugGuide.  What we find most interesting is your comparison of its behavior to a turkey, an observation also made by the entomologists that settled upon Peacock Fly as its common name.  Native to North America, it has recently been reported in Europe.

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Subject:  Ant/Wasp like creature found on window
Geographic location of the bug:  Montreal, City Area
Date: 06/30/2018
Time: 04:55 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  It was around as big as the tip of my index finger (not including the wings). This wasp/ant like creature was all brown except for its abdomen, which was a darker shade of brown. It had a retractable stinger, I saw it and has black and white wings. I saw it on the opposite side of my window facing outside my house. I saw it on a cloudy hot summer day around dusk time, around the end of June. I am curious to know what kind of species it is, and if it is dangerous or not. I cannot find anything about it on the Internet, maybe it is a new species? Thank you!
How you want your letter signed:  Your name

Picture Winged Fly

This is neither an Ant nor a Wasp.  It is a Fly.  More specifically, it is a Picture Winged Fly, Delphinia picta.  It is not dangerous.

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Subject:  Strange segmented fly?
Geographic location of the bug:  Cincinnati
Date: 05/21/2018
Time: 10:15 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  We’ve had a large number of these critters in the last few weeks. Caught this one sitting on my windshield and was able to get a pretty close image.
How you want your letter signed:  C Hunter

Picture Winged Fly

Dear C Hunter,
This is a Picture Winged Fly, Delphinia picta,  which is pictured on BugGuide, and according to BugGuide:  “Breeds in decaying organic matter, such as compost” so we suspect you have a compost pile nearby.

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Subject: I really want to know what big this is.
Location: Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA
June 2, 2017 6:24 pm
I saw this bug on my apartment building and it scared me.
Signature: Krystina Edwards

PIcture Winged Fly

Dear Krystina,
You have nothing to fear.  This is a Picture Winged Fly, Idana marginata, and we verified its identification on BugGuide.  What appears to be a stinger is actually the ovipositor of a female, an organ she uses to lay eggs.  According to BugGuide, the larva “Develops in compost” and adults are “Sometimes found feeding on sap at tree wounds.”  An amusing encounter with this insect is published on The Incorrigible Entomologist:  “Walking around my yard one morning a few years ago, I looked up into a maple tree to see an unbelievably beautiful insect. Golden yellow and tan, with a striking pattern of black stripes and splotches, the critter looked down at me, rowing its wings back and forth with a feeling of knowing exactly what it was doing. It was unmistakably a fly, but it was huge by Maine fly standards – about 10 mm long. It was also perched high up on the tree trunk, too high to be reached by hand or net. Luckily I had my camera with me. Unluckily, it was only my little point and shoot. I took aim and fired off three shots before the fly, well, flew. Only one photo was in focus, and since the critter was so far away, it was not a very good photo at all. Something as distinctive as this had to be identifiable, though.  ‘Well’, I thought, ‘I’ll post it on BugGuide and see if anyone can point me in the right direction’. Two hours later I had my answer, courtesy of veteran BG editor v belov. It was Idana marginata, eastern North America’s largest picture-winged fly. This family, Ulidiidae, contains about 130 species in North America, many of which are very brightly colored and patterned, hence the common name. Most develop in decaying organic matter, or in roots.”

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