{"id":116847,"date":"2023-10-07T05:00:05","date_gmt":"2023-10-07T11:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=116847"},"modified":"2026-03-16T11:41:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T16:41:18","slug":"black-footed-drone-fly-on-rabbitbrush","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/10\/07\/black-footed-drone-fly-on-rabbitbrush\/","title":{"rendered":"Black-footed Drone Fly On Rabbitbrush"},"content":{"rendered":"

While out in the West Desert two days ago, I photographed this adult Black-footed Drone Fly, a member of the hoverfly family, on a rabbitbrush.<\/p>\n

\"AutumnAutumn Black-footed Drone Fly \u2013 Nikon D500, f8, 1\/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I had been taking images of an adult Red-tailed Hawk when a drone fly suddenly flew in, landed on the rabbitbrush, and caught my eye. I have always had a fondness for hoverflies, so I shifted my lens and focused on it for a moment.<\/p>\n

I researched this hoverfly on iNaturalist<\/span><\/a> which helped me to identify the species. The United States Forest Service (USFS) reports that there are almost 900 species of the family Syrphidae in North America<\/span>. The exact number of hoverfly species in North America is unclear, but it is likely to be in the hundreds or thousands.
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"AutumnAutumn Black-footed Drone Fly with inset \u2013 Nikon D500, f8, 1\/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

In this image, I have added an inset with the fly shown larger.<\/p>\n

There is a second out-of-focus Black-footed Drone Fly<\/span><\/a> in both photos, which flew at the one in focus and bumped it off the rabbitbrush right after this shot was taken.<\/p>\n

Hoverflies <\/strong>are masters of mimicry<\/strong> <\/span><\/h2>\n

They often have black and yellow stripes, much like bees and wasps, which helps them avoid predators who think they have the capability to sting. <\/span><\/p>\n

Adult hoverflies feed mainly on nectar and pollen, and they are one of many pollinators that feed on these resources<\/span>.<\/span> They are second only to bees in terms of their effectiveness as pollinators, and they may be more efficient than bees because they can carry pollen much further and visit a greater diversity of flowers. <\/span><\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my insect and spider photos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While out in the West Desert two days ago, I photographed this adult Black-footed Drone Fly, a member of the hoverfly family, on a rabbitbrush.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":116843,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14430,17262,358,26,1314],"tags":[4004,970,14431,6098,6557,7353,14434,14433,6097,14432,4620,6518,7017,12262,12261,4302,4289,6100,10452,3896,5063],"class_list":["post-116847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-black-footed-drone-flies","category-hoverflies","category-tooele-county","category-utah","category-west-desert-utah","tag-adult","tag-autumn","tag-black-footed-drone-fly","tag-blooming","tag-blooms","tag-blossoms","tag-drone-flies","tag-drone-fly","tag-ericameria-nauseosa","tag-eristalis-hirta","tag-fall","tag-flowering","tag-foothills","tag-hoverflies","tag-hoverfly","tag-native","tag-rabbitbrush","tag-rubber-rabbitbrush","tag-sky-island-mountains","tag-wildflower","tag-yellow-wildflowers"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Black-footed-Drone-Fly-hoverfly-rabbitbrush-mia-mcperson-2288.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-uoD","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":94643,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/09\/09\/other-things-with-wings-broad-headed-marsh-fly-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":116847,"position":0},"title":"Other Things With Wings – Broad-headed Marsh Fly Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 9, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"These Broad-headed Marsh Fly photos are twofers. I got the hoverflies and the blooming Common Sunflowers in the same frames.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Broad-headed Marsh Fly on a Common Sunflower, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Broad-headed-Marsh-Fly-common-sunflower-hoverfly-close-up-mia-mcpherson-0315.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Broad-headed-Marsh-Fly-common-sunflower-hoverfly-close-up-mia-mcpherson-0315.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Broad-headed-Marsh-Fly-common-sunflower-hoverfly-close-up-mia-mcpherson-0315.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Broad-headed-Marsh-Fly-common-sunflower-hoverfly-close-up-mia-mcpherson-0315.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":54143,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/09\/15\/cutest-bee-flies-in-the-world-on-rabbitbrush-curlycup-gumweed\/","url_meta":{"origin":116847,"position":1},"title":"Cutest Bee Flies in the World on Rabbitbrush & Curlycup Gumweed","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 15, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I photographed some of the cutest, fuzzy Bee Flies in the world this week nectaring on Rabbitbrush and Curlycup Gumweed in the Stansbury Mountains of the West Desert.","rel":"","context":"In "Bee Flies"","block_context":{"text":"Bee Flies","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife\/bee-flies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Bee Fly nectaring on rabbitbrush - Possibly Bombyliinae - Anastoechus? 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McPherson","date":"September 29, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"I got lucky at one rabbitbrush when I found a Clouded Sulphur butterfly nectaring on what I believe is a Rubber Rabbitbrush.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Clouded Sulphur butterfly nectaring on Rabbitbrush, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/clouded-sulphur-butterfly-rabbitbrush-mia-mcpherson-6367.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/clouded-sulphur-butterfly-rabbitbrush-mia-mcpherson-6367.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Butterflies","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife\/camillus-crescent-butterflies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mormon Fritillary butterfly on rabbitbrush, West Desert, Tooele County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Mormon-Fritillary-on-rabbitbrush-mia-mcpherson-1530.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Mormon-Fritillary-on-rabbitbrush-mia-mcpherson-1530.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Mormon-Fritillary-on-rabbitbrush-mia-mcpherson-1530.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Mormon-Fritillary-on-rabbitbrush-mia-mcpherson-1530.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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Portraits","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 20, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday morning while looking for birds to photograph on Antelope Island State Park I had two White-crowned Sparrows fly into a rabbitbrush that was so close to me that all I could do was take portraits of them.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sunny White-crowned Sparrow portrait, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, 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