Yellowjacket hover fly

Saw this fly ovipositing onto a recently toppled tree, in Clayton Park, New Jersey.  Pretty sure it’s Milesia virginiensis (Diptera), the yellowjacket hover fly.  It was large enough, though, to gave me pause for a few seconds.  Syrphids I’m familiar with are much smaller, and never really register as wasps.  A rather convincing mimic.

Yellowjacket hover fly (Yellowjacket Hover Fly - Milesia virginiensis; Syrphidae) ovipositing on decaying tree stump.  Clayton Park, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States.

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