How hairy the fly

A few weeks ago, I photographed this fly as it sat on the roof of my wife's car. The morning sun was shining brightly. As I zoomed the camera lens closer and closer, the hairs on the fly came into good focus.

This is a beneficial insect known as a tachinid fly. It helps control other insects that damage garden plants, and I have seen them on flowers playing the part of pollinator. Tachinid flies exist in the outdoors and are seldom seen inside a house.

There are more than 1,000 kinds of tachinid flies in North America and many thousands more worldwide. The one you see here looks almost like a caricature with its long legs, big maroon eyes, colorful body and abundant hairs. But he is a friend, not an alien visitor from a distant planet.