Bee Fly - Bombylius major

The bee fly (Bombylius major) is a bee mimic that is totally harmless to humans.
It doesn't bite and it doesn't sting. The long 'spike' on the front is its proboscis used to extract nectar from flowers.

I don't know if these are becoming more common, or whether I am just getting better at spotting them.

I passed the best part of an hour stalking this one in my garden. It spent most of its time hovering about 3 to 4 feet above the ground and darting rapidly from place to place. All attempts at a flight photo were doomed to failure by always being out of focus.
It would then start feeding from honesty flowers but never staying long on one flower and moving off whenever I got close.
Next it would rest for a bit on a leaf or stone to clean its proboscis and recharge its batteries before starting once again on its hovering antics.

During its resting phase I was able to wriggle close on my stomach and get the camera within 6 inches (15cm). This is the result.