I learned something interesting with this picture. First, the parts I already knew. This fly was flitting around on some flowers, but then landed on this bracken fern. I noted that it looks a lot like a bumblebee. However, it has only two wings, not four- therefore, not a bee. It also doesn't fly like a bee. If an insect is sitting on a leaf like this, it's probably not a bee at all. It was definitely a fly- Order Diptera (two wings). After that, I was at the end of my knowledge and had to go hunting.
Flies that look like bees are robber flies. They are in the genus Laphria. But there are more genera which are all called robber flies in the family Asilidae. Worldwide, there are more than 7100 species of them. They are noted for having a long proboscis which they use to stab victims. They then inject a neurotoxin to kill the prey. The saliva also dissolves the internal organs of the victim, and the robber fly sucks this meal back through the proboscis. Yum.
To see another kind of robber fly, Ratty once posted a picture of a Giant Robber Fly
Most of these cousins have to get by with sharing the same common name. I think this one's formal name is Laphria thoracica
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10 comments:
This one does look very much like a bee. I'll have to watch for bee-like bugs on leaves. I bet your search for it was much more organized than my search was for mine. :)
Well isn't that interesting. Rather gruesome sounding how they kill their prey though
He certainly looks like a bumbly bee.
oh, thanks so much for your information, I will remember that, if an insect sits like this on a leaf, it must not be a bee, he does look like one.
Well, that doesn't sound very friendly. All 7100 of them can stay away from me.
Think I'll give robber flies a miss.
Ratty- well, I'm not great with insects, but I've tried to retain the things I once knew about the orders- diptera for flies, etc
Ann- insects have so many specific and strange ways of eating!
Chuck- it was flitting around a flower too. Some flies help with pollination, not sure if this one does.
betchai- the wings are very different. I'll see if I can get a pic.
vanilla- they don't suck the insides out of people, but that would be quite a horror tale if they did
john- they are everywhere, we just don't notice them much because they don't try to eat people.
God I hate flies they give me the heebie geebies (all creepy crawly insectie things do)! but this article was really fascinating...
in a uugh yuk sort of way
Yuck, I'm leave it to its other victims. I prefer not to be one!
Geri- what a great compliment! I'll take a yucky sort of way.
Carmen- nah... they don't suck out human insides, although that might make a good horror story.
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