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I photographed these two flies in early morning in early May. The place was the Sonoran Desert of southern Arizona, USA. I didn't get a measurement.

The photo had some technical problems so I have delayed posting it. Finally today I worked on it some and here it is.

Are they Syrphids?

As always, thanks for the ID help with these!

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Yes, they're syrphids, and such a cute pair! B)
They are in the genus Copestylum, which includes a number of species associated with decaying cacti. The long, downward-pointing face is reminiscent of Volucella (very familiar to European dipterists), and some species of Copestylum were originally placed in that genus.

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Tony, thanks for your help with this one. I had suspected they might be desert-specific, but didn't have any evidence. Nice to get an ID.

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Yep, Tony is quite right.
This could be Copestylum isabellina, which is known from decaying cacti. There is a picture of a female depositing her eggs on a cactus on Bugguide.
Btw, there more you go south in the Americas, the more species of Copestylum you will find. There are a few hundred species in South America, of which a lot of them are until now undescribed by science!
greetings,

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Thanks, Gerard. Moments before you wrote I had posted the image at BugGuide to see if anyone from the western US recognized the species. I too, paused at C. isabellina at BugGuide! Thanks again for your help with these flies.