{"id":3807,"date":"2012-12-18T00:00:04","date_gmt":"2012-12-18T06:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/?p=3807"},"modified":"2017-05-15T19:40:55","modified_gmt":"2017-05-16T00:40:55","slug":"big-bee-flies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/bug-of-the-week\/big-bee-flies\/","title":{"rendered":"Big Bee Flies (Family Bombyliidae)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Greetings, BugFans,<\/p>\n

The BugLady enjoys Bee Flies; she especially admires the little flying teddy bears in the genus Bombylius<\/em> and Systoechus<\/em> and can never resist trying to photograph one (to her camera\u2019s dismay). Bee flies (family Bombyliidae) also come in larger, more robust models. As a group, they are big-eyed, with long legs, and long wings that are often strongly-patterned and are held out to the sides like a \u201cV\u201d when at rest. Because they hover, they\u2019re mistaken for Flower-Hover-Syrphid flies. Like Syrphid flies they are bee mimics, but where Syrphids are smooth, BFs are characteristically hairy. Their long proboscis allows them sip nectar from flowers; they do not sink it into mammalian flesh.<\/p>\n

\"bee-fly10-1b\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a big family that\u2019s been around for about 140 million years, and so there are BFs everywhere, but they\u2019re especially diverse in dry country. Their lifestyles are somewhat similar, though there are gaps in the life histories of many species.<\/p>\n

Adults, which are diurnal (active in the daytime), feed blamelessly on pollen and nectar from flowers (they do like composites), but most BF larvae are external parasites\/parasitoids on the larvae of ground-nesting insects—insects that practice, like the BFs themselves, Complete Metamorphosis (wasps, bees, flies, beetles, moths and butterflies). Some oddball BFs feed inside the egg pods of Short-horned grasshoppers. Female BFs hover as they hunt for the nests of their offspring\u2019s hosts. When they see a likely-looking tunnel in the ground, they lay eggs on the soil nearby.<\/p>\n

Like the Blister Beetle (of recent BOTW fame), BF larvae are unusually active when they first hatch, using the extra mobility that characterizes hypermetamorphosis<\/em> to secure a place at the table in the host\u2019s nest. During their subsequent sedentary instars, they consume their host from the outside-in (different species of BFs favor different hosts), and then pupate on site. According to the wonderful bugguide.net<\/a>, the pupa is equipped with spines or spikes to drill out of the host\u2019s nest.<\/p>\n

Here are some of the larger local BFs. Caveat: the BugLady once again admits the limitations of \u201cpicture-keying\u201d—she thinks these IDs are \u201cclose.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chrysanthrax cypris<\/em><\/h3>\n

Chrysanthrax cypris<\/em><\/strong> doesn\u2019t have a common name. Kaufman and Eaton in their Field Guide to Insects of North America<\/em>, advise us to \u201clook for adults on low-growing composite flowers. The larvae are parasitic on white grubs, the larvae of Phyllophaga scarab beetles\u201d (the May\/June beetle\/bugs).<\/p>\n

\"bee-fly-chrysanthrax11-2rz\"<\/p>\n

Progressive Bee Fly<\/h3>\n

Progressive Bee Fly (Exoprosopa sp.<\/em>, possibly E. decora<\/em>). The BugLady didn\u2019t see any explanation as to why some\/all members of the genus Exoprosopa<\/em> are called \u201cProgressive.\u201d Members of the genus are among the largest BFs, with some measuring three-quarters of an inch long. This species is about a half-inch; one source describes its head as \u201cloosely attached,\u201d and another calls the clear patch in the middle of the wing a \u201cSnoopy-shaped spot.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"bee-fly-progressive08-6rz\"<\/p>\n

According to Kaufman and Eaton, \u201cthe larvae are apparently parasitic on other parasites of bee, wasp, or beetle larvae living in the soil,\u201d including, apparently, robber fly larvae. A parasite of a parasite is called a hyperparasite or an epiparasite.<\/p>\n

Chocolate Bee Fly<\/h3>\n

The Latin name of the Chocolate Bee Fly (Hemipenthes sinuosa<\/em>) comes from hemi<\/em> (half) and penthos<\/em> (mourning) referring to a wing that is half draped in black, and sinus<\/em> meaning curving or undulating, referring to the wavy border of the dark wing patch. It is also called the Sinuous Bee Fly. Chocolate Bee flies are also hyperparasites who specialize in larval ichneumon wasps and tachinid flies, which parasitize caterpillars.<\/p>\n

\"bee-fly-chocolate10-1sm\"<\/p>\n

Anthrax irroratus<\/em><\/h3>\n

Anthrax irroratus<\/em> (maybe) takes a little explaining. Irror<\/em> means freckled-speckled-bedewed and refers to the sprinkling of spots on the wings. The more alarming Anthrax<\/em> comes originally from the Greek for carbuncle<\/em> or coal, and possibly refers to the rough surface or fleshy-looking \u201chairs\u201d on the abdomen.<\/p>\n

\"bee-fly-anthrax12-1rz\"<\/p>\n

Most Anthrax larvae parasitize the young of solitary, ground-nesting wasps, but one species feeds on tiger beetle grubs. Anthrax are nicknamed \u201cBombers\u201d for their habit of hovering at the entrance of a tunnel and tossing eggs into it while in flight (with fingers crossed that the hole is occupied. A wing and a prayer). There are accounts of Anthrax landing on people and of females mistaking a dark spot on clothing for a likely tunnel and lobbing eggs at it.<\/p>\n

Remember, the convention for spelling insect names says that True Flies (order Diptera) like Bee Flies or Deer flies, are spelled as two words. Non-Dipterans \u201cflies\u201d like Scorpionflies, Mayflies, butterflies and dragonflies are single words.<\/p>\n

 
\nThe Bug Lady<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bee Flies<\/strong> are big-eyed, with long legs, and long wings that are often strongly-patterned and are held out to the sides like a \u201cV\u201d when at rest. Because they hover, they\u2019re mistaken for Flower-Hover-Syrphid flies. Like Syrphid flies they are bee mimics. Adults are diurnal, feed blamelessly on pollen and nectar from flowers, but most BF larvae are external parasites\/parasitoids on the larvae of ground-nesting insects.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":845,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[8],"tags":[80],"class_list":["post-3807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bug-of-the-week","tag-flies"],"yoast_head":"\nField Station<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/bug-of-the-week\/big-bee-flies\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Big Bee Flies (Family Bombyliidae)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Bee Flies are big-eyed, with long legs, and long wings that are often strongly-patterned and are held out to the sides like a \u201cV\u201d when at rest. 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