Insects and Spiders

I Thought It Was A Yellowjacket

When I came inside my house, what I thought was a yellow jacket came in with me. This is a problem because I like to go barefoot and I have cats that could get stung also. I went to get a broom to try to slap it down out of the air. When I came back it had gone to a window with blinds. I discovered that a tiny spider had solved my problem. The "yellow jacket" had been caught in a web. Later when I got the insect identified by experts, it turned out to be a fly pretending to be a yellow jacket. This is an example of Batesian mimicry which is when a harmless, tasty species mimics another species that is toxic or foul tasting or dangerous in order to be protected from predators. Sure fooled me. It did not deter the spider.
Syrphid fly (Meromacrus acutus)

Meromacrus acutusyellow jacket mimicBatesian mimicryflymimicinsectbugspider webcaughtclose upgarland texaswebentangledSyrphid flywindow sill