Unidentified Creepy Thing

[Julie Kenward]

Okay, all you bug people...help me out here. I have a huge book on insects but I honestly don't have a clue where to begin looking for this one. Any help would be greatly appreciated! All I know is that it was hanging out on my back deck riding the pink wave of a calla lily plant and it has the coolest eye I've ever seen. :)

Canon 40D, EF 100mm f/2.8 macro
f5.6 @ 1/80th, ISO 400
Manual mode, pattern metering, evaluative fill flash, handheld
Processed in ACR & CS4; small crop, levels adjustment, sharpening, toned down one bright area in BG.

[Ken Childs]

Wow! That eye is fantastic!
Very nice comp, colors and clarity on the bug.

It's definitely a fly but that's about as much help as I'll be able to give. Send the shot to Bugguide and they'll probably be able to give an ID or at least tell which group it belongs to.

[Julie Kenward]

Thanks Ken! I'll check my bug book first and then try your resource. I thought it might be a fly but it's so different than any I've ever seen before I just wasn't sure.

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

An incredible capture Julie and certainly something that I have never seen and I am not sure I want :D:D Looks a bit scary but wonderful capture with excellent detail.

[Thomas Herou]

What a nicelooking fly!:)
I think it's from the family of Pictured-Winged Flies.A kind of fruit-fly.

[Michael Lloyd]

Wow... you nailed that one Julie. My favorite place for bug identification is BugGuide.Net Those people know every bug I've ever posted there and I've put plenty out there. I was thinking that it was some kind of Hover Fly but I have no idea really.

[Cheryl Flory]

Julie, did you find out what kind of insect this is??
Named or un-named, I love the image--the amazing details in the fly, the tension of it sitting there on the edge like it is about to take off, and I really like the bit of detail below its "landing pad" and the circle of pink color behind it. everything giving your eye lots to explore in this image.

how did you happen to notice it?

[Anita Bower]

Great Shot! I agree with Cheryl's comments. The selective focus works really well. Those are some eyes.

[Julie Kenward]

Thanks everyone. I'm still looking for an I.D. I put the photo up at Bug Guides but haven't checked back.

[Cheryl Flory]

Julie, can you add a bit of contrast to the center of the eye to make it more vibrant, like the blue is to the left of what seems to be the center?

[Julie Kenward]

Cheryl, I was kind of thinking about that, too. Good eye (Yours...not his!)