Philoliche (Phara) andrenoides Usher, 1965 - Identification

Bee-like and boldly marked. Head with clypeus bare and shiny, frons yellow tomented with linear callus. Antennal bases closely approximated. Thorax unmarked thorax with fine bronze pile. Femora black, pale at extreme apex, hairs medium long, white. Tibiae yellowish-white basally, and dark brown apically on basal three segments of middle and hind tarsi, fore tarsi entirely brown except for first segment. Wings yellow-brown, faintly smoky at the apex and along the hind margin. Abdomen conspicuously banded with orange hind borders to the segments.

Detailled description by Usher (with illustration):
https://journals.co.za/doi/pdf/10.10520/AJA03040798_756

Philoliche andrenoides is known from the Natal Drakensberg, from open grassland: Cathedral Peak area, and Hogsback.
An excellent bee-mimic with booming flight.

iNat observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/107323854

Posted on August 1, 2023 10:43 AM by traianbertau