Around here they're called "news bees," although I'd never heard that name before. They're Hoverflies, members of a large and diverse family of flies that mimic wasps. It's easy to see how they got their local name, however. One will fly up to a person and hover just in front of them, like they have something important to say and are just waiting to be recognized. I guess they're very polite because they never butt in.
