Over on the BBB forum, we have a thread where we share our various insects. I've been calling this thing a bee, but jmorth helpfully pointed out that it only had two wings and so it was more likely a fly. It's hard to get good photos of them because they constantly "float" from flower to flower. They are as large as a bumblebee but all black. And kind of shiny. They seem to be good pollinators and prefer my porterweed (which it's on) and the Salvia 'Mystic Spires'. I usually only see one or two of them on any given plant. They're not at all aggressive and don't mind when I get pretty close to take pictures. They just rarely hold still!
