I saw this guy as I was scouting locations for a shot on the Poudre River in Colorado ...

Is it a fly or what?

I don't think you should mess with it, whatever it is.

Andrew

I gave it a pop into PS for some adjustment ... my new monitor is really a dream for editing ...

Gonna make a 10 x 10 from this when the Epson 2200 finally arrives.

Nice shot. I like the narrow DOF. Those "hairs" remind of the ones that Jeff Goldblum grew in "The Fly".

It's a fly of some kind. I was surprised to learn that some flies (flys?) suck nectar from flowers, like bees. Here's a couple examples from Southern California. The yellow fly looks and sounds about like a bumblebee, but it's a fly I've been told.

It kind of reminds me of my former mother-in-law.

It's a type of syrphid, or hoverfly. They're also known as 'bee imitators'. Camouflage is a tool by some insects to ward off predation by birds and others. There's a really small fruit fly known as a tephritid that mimics not only the shape and markings but also the territorial display of the jumping spider that preys on it.

Mike.