The bright, colorful sunflower maggot fruit fly sits on a leaf.

So, I’ve probably got some better shots of these critters in the archives somewhere, but I took this one last week. These yellow flies with the stunning eyes have reliably shown up on and around the Jerusalem artichokes at the edge of my grandfather’s garden for the past few years (and probably well before that, I imagine). They aren’t usually that cooperative.

For the taxonomically-inclined, using BugGuide.net, I’ve narrowed it down to Genus Strauzia, possibly Strauzia longipennis, the Sunflower Maggot Fruit Fly.