If you hang out on the birds & bees & insects threads you get fast at IDs. You can always tell that there's just something not right with the "wannabees". Usually to me, fly eyes are bigger and scarier, looking more forward. I usually tell kids bee eyes are cute & "bee-dy" compared to the fly.
I knew it couldn't be a carpenter bee, because those things are thicker like a linebacker, with big muscular hairy legs. What you posted had a weird stance with weird looking legs. Flies usually have slightly spindlier & daintier legs compared to the subject they're copying..
This is the best carpenter bee shot I've got:
This would be a male valley carpenter bee... If it's blonde with green eyes, then it must, like, totally be from the Valley y'know what I'm saying?
