[RAILhead]

My niece is doing an insect thing at school, so we're all collecting all kind of bugs when we see them -- but two have me stumped:





I know what the top one is, but for the life of me, I can't remember.

As to the "fly" one, it's not a "normal" black fly; look at the small abdomen, long back legs, and long antennae. Also, when it's not flying, it bobs its abdomen up and down constantly.

Any help with the common name and/or genus would be MUCH appreciated!

TIA,
Maury

[olePigeon]

I've seen a few pretty weird hybrid bugs. Bess/ants/flies. They look weirdo.

[Cipher13]

Any more photos from different angles would help greatly, as would the general region in which you live (if you want a species). That, or I'll ask questions and if you can answer them as well as possible, that could work.

I'm guessing the bottom one is a Hymenopteran of sorts, but I can't tell. Does it have two pairs of wings, or one pair with a reduced hind pair? All I've really got to go on is it's mouthparts, which look like they're of the biting sort, not proboscis, but again, I can't really tell. That said, the colouration is odd, as is the morphology of the abdomen, and the apparent lack of a second pair of wings. It could definitely be Dipteran.

The top one, I don't really know without looking at a key. Either a Hemipteran or a Hymenopteran for sure, though. I'll look into it when I find my book.

[budster101]

Daddy Long Ant > Fatherous Elongatus Antious
Daddy Long Flie > Fatherous Elongatus Flieous

[air]

yes. what he said. bravo.

[dav]

top one looks like an assassin bug.

[dav]

and the bottom has the head of a wasp, which led me to the "Evaniid Wasp"

[RAILhead]

Sweet Moses, dav, your deductions look pretty dadgum dead-on!

Thanks, man!