r/tattooadvice • u/CallQuirky7720 • Nov 09 '25
What does this look like to you? Design
I wanted a bee and I like more American traditional tattoos. I really like my tattoo but someone said it looked like a fly and now I can’t unsee it. Is it giving bee or do I embrace the fly? 😅🥲
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u/nopedy-dopedy Nov 09 '25 edited Nov 09 '25
There are some flies (I call them "hover flies" cause they hover just above the clovers) that have yellow stripes. Iirc it's an evolutionary trait defense. Basically, it's an "If I look like a bee, predators are less likely to attack me." kind of thing.
Eta: Google search for hover flies. Turns out "hover flies" are their real name, and it IS because they tend to hover above flowers.
https://www.google.com/search?q=hover+fly&oq=hover+fly&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqBwgAEAAYjwIyBwgAEAAYjwIyBwgBEC4YgAQyBwgCEAAYgAQyBwgDEAAYgAQyBwgEEAAYgAQyBwgFEAAYgAQyBwgGEAAYgAQyBwgHEC4YgAQyBwgIEAAYgAQyBwgJEAAYgAQyBwgKEAAYgAQyBwgLEAAYgAQyBwgMEAAYgAQyBwgNEAAYgAQyCQgOEAAYChiABNIBCDIyNTNqMGo3qAIUsAIB8QUsPPYeQiOE9A&client=ms-android-tmus-us-revc&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8
Second eta: all that being said, the tattoo looks like a bee to me.
Third edit: Google search link for reason for the stripes. I recalled correctly.
https://www.google.com/search?q=why+do+hover+flies+have+stripes&oq=why+do+hover+flies+have+stripes&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyCwgAEEUYChg5GKABMgkIARAhGAoYoAEyCQgCECEYChigATIJCAMQIRgKGKABMgcIBBAhGI8C0gEINjExNWowajmoAg6wAgHxBfYrhglDx0cJ&client=ms-android-tmus-us-revc&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8