Not much to say…
Spring is here!
Category: Bug of the Week (Page 88 of 219)
We have been seeing this curious insect every year in February and March in our spring wildflowers.
(February 18, 2015)
It regularly visits the desert marigolds.
(March 4, 2009)
Although it looks like a wasp or maybe a flower fly, it is a bee. In fact, it is a cuckoo bee, Xeromelecta californica.
What is a cuckoo bee?
Instead of making a nest and gathering pollen of their own, cuckoo bees sneak into the nests made and provisioned by digger bees (Anthophora sp.. especially Anthrophora urbana.) The females kill the eggs the mother digger bee laid and lay their own eggs on the food instead. The cuckoo bees then fly away and the nest eventually produces cuckoo bees rather than digger bees.
Ah, the drama that unfolds in one small suburban yard.
Have you ever discovered a cuckoo bee? What kinds are found where you live?
A teacher friend last week suggested he could show images from Bug of the Week to his class via a SmartBoard and ask students for insights into what they see (Great idea, Jeff!)
This insect (from the archives and from western New York state) would be perfect for that kind of student exploration.
First, you might want to ask what kind of insect it is. Is it a wasp? An ant? Or a fly?
Here’s a closer view. Why does this insect have red eyes? Why do you think it has such long legs? What are those orange marks on its legs?
In case you don’t recognize it, the insect above is a stilt-legged fly, Rainieria antennaepes. Most experts think it is a parasitoid wasp mimic (like this one), but some of its relatives are ant mimics.
Although it is not readily apparent in these photographs, the tarsi or “feet” of the front legs are white. The insect holds its front legs out in front of itself and waves them around like antennae. The species name antennaepes means antenna foot, referring to this behavior.
You can see a fly of a closely-related species waving its front legs in this video. Keep alert for one scene that shows what the adult flies feed on. Look closely at the front of the head where the sponging mouthparts are found.
Did you see it? The adult flies feed on bird droppings and similar wastes.
Isn’t that an interesting fly?
For more information, see Roberta Gibson Writes.