Hover fly and hornets

As summer winds down in Raleigh, there are still some flower varieties freshly blooming. I wandered out to take a closer look and saw what I thought was a tiny bee. It turned out to be (I think) a hover fly. I didn't get to see its flying behavior, because it took off and vanished while my attention was turned to another visitor.

This hornet, which moved in on the fly's territory, was quite docile, intent on gathering what it could. The first shot includes the nub of a bit of  pine straw, which makes a handy reference for size.

The black markings on the compound eye are quite distinctive. It's natural for us to be wary of potentially stinging insects, but aren't these handsome creatures?

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