Name that bug: Predatory Wasp?

12 years ago

Hello again!
(I promise this is my last question for today! I'm new to raised beds (only have had a few containers in the past) and I'm new to this forum so I may be asking too many questions! My apologies!)
My question is if the guy in the attached photo is a predatory wasp of some kind? I can find pictures online that look kind of like him but not exactly and I know the differences between bugs can be very hard to see. Please let me know if he's a keeper, or if he should be tossed in my bucket of soapy water with the rest of the garden heathens.
Thank you! :)

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Comments (7)

dbarron
12 years ago
I believe he's a fly....but what exact role he plays...I dunno.
Fori
12 years ago
Hes definitely a fly, but what's he doing? He's blurry but maybe is an asilid? I'd let him be. If you DO execute him, do it in a manner that allows for good photography for identification!
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zzackey
12 years ago
He may be a fly, but why would that make him a bad bug? Most bugs are good bugs.
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
12 years ago
It's absolutely a fly (order Diptera) of some sort. What size is it?
shawski
Original Author
12 years ago
Hahahaha. Seriously. This is why I signed up for this form. My ability to google bugs and determine what they are is non-existent. Oye. :( it's about half an inch? Thank you for the help!
Fori
12 years ago
Google yellow robber fly or something like that and see if any look right. He has the right butt.
missingtheobvious
12 years ago
He may be a fly, but why would that make him a bad bug?

Some fly larvae eat plants. Voraciously. Pine Sawfly larvae denude my Mugo pines, so they're kind of hard to miss. They are a 100% certified Bad Bug! (A 50/50 mix of isopropyl alcohol and water, with a mild soap sticker, kills them on contact! Bt kurstaki won't, no matter how much they resemble caterpillars.)