Although this fly is about the same shape and size as a housefly, it’s got an outlandish life story and some unusual body parts. Plus, how can you ignore its candy-apple red coat!
Myopa genus flies are in the Thick-headed Fly family Conopidae (“kuh-NOP-uh-dee”), which means cone-faced, and is also fun to say.
Females of the species probably aren’t bothered by being called thick-headed and cone-faced. Because they’re focused on a gargantuan life mission: to tackle a bee larger than themselves, pry open a space between the bee’s abdominal segments, and leave an egg there. That’s one tough assignment. And they do it over and over.
Notice the curve of its abdomen, which ends in a taper? That bottle-opener shape is what the fly uses to wedge an egg into the bee. After its laid, the egg develops inside the unfortunate bee, which won’t come out of this alive. The larva will use it as food to create the next generation of Myopa flies.
While looking for bees to target, these flashy red flies hang out where the bees do, on flowering plants. While there, they also drink nectar if they’re peckish, and for that reason they can be pollinators.
Myopa flies have another unique appendage: a proboscis with two folds. The first allows it to bend under the head and stay out of the way, and the second is like an extendable straw, enabling it to access nectar while remaining alert for predators and targets for its egg-laying. You can see the two bends in one of the photos here.
I saw several red Myopa flies (these are in the curticornis species complex) on flowering shrubs at Mount Pisgah recently, so keep your eyes open for tiny flashes of red. They don’t stop moving very often, but if you’re lucky you might see one groom itself, as this one was, feed on nectar, or just maybe, attempt a death-defying wrestle with a bee.
Stay curious!
See more of Karen’s work here.
Sources:
The BugLady’s thick-headed fly column: https://uwm.edu/field-station/bug-of-the-week/tricks-of-the-trade-thick-headed-flies/. Accessed 5/20/26.
General info on the genus: https://www.minnesotaseasons.com/Insects/thick-headed_fly_Myopa_clausa.html. Accessed 5/20/26
All photos by Karen Richards.