A Wasp Look-alike

Of course it’s a wasp—or is it? But look at those eyes, covering the head almost completely, and those short, stubby antennae, sure signs of the Order Diptera—the flies.

This Syrphid fly may look like a dangerous stinger, but it’s really a harmless lapper—and a clever deceiver. At least it fooled me until I got a closer look. (You can take a closer look by clicking on the picture.)

The living world is full of deceivers, tricksters, hiders and imitators, not only in the insect realm but across the board in both animal and plant kingdoms. Why take up these unseemly habits? To keep from being eaten and to fulfill life’s basic needs—nutrition and reproduction.

So why would this harmless fly, busy lapping nectar and pollen from a Common Mullein flower, want to look like a Yellow Jacket wasp? The answer is obvious. The Yellow Jacket, a disrupter of many a picnic, has a potent sting and will use it without much provocation. A gentle sweep of the hand to discourage it from buzzing too close may bring a vicious and painful response from one or more of the black and yellow-striped picnic invaders.

The fly’s motto: look dangerous and maybe, just maybe, I’ll live to lap nectar for one more day. It’s a ploy similar to that used by all those orange and black critters, like the milkweed beetle of an earlier blog post (scroll down if you are a new visitor to this blog), who take pains to look poisonous, whether they are or not.

If you think the Syrphid fly and the Milkweed Beetle are tricky, wait ‘til we reveal one of the non-altruistic adaptations of our magnificent Milkweed. It’s not a nice thing. Stay tuned.

Deception, trickery, hiding, imitating for selfish reasons—how awful! But all we have to do is to put down the insect and flower field guides and pick up a mirror—and instantly we will see why we need the Savior! “We have met the enemy, and he is us,” quipped Pogo. But Ephesians 2:1-10 says it better—and provides conviction, comfort and strength—if we are “in Christ”.