urbpan: (dandelion)
[personal profile] urbpan
 photo IMG_2619_zpsafff9c41.jpg

Tiger bee fly Xenox tigrinus

The bee flies, family Bombyliidae, are mostly flies that are furry and colorful and have come to look somewhat like bees. Recently there's been a spate of cute bee fly pics circulating the internet. The tiger bee fly, although related, is not cute and furry. It is huge and fearsome, resembling a horse fly or perhaps a large hornet, depending on what you are afraid of. It is entirely harmless to humans, so don't be alarmed. Unless you happen to be a carpenter bee, that is. You see, the tiger bee fly shares one important thing with it's cute fuzzy relatives: parasitoid larvae. The fly seeks out a carpenter bee nest and lays eggs on the bee larvae inside. The first instar of the fly larva is an active mobile maggot which burrows its way into the host; once inside, the fly larva metamorphoses into a sessile parasite which feeds on the developing carpenter bee, eventually killing it. Instead of a bee, a bee fly emerges from the nest.
This account has disabled anonymous posting.
If you don't have an account you can create one now.
HTML doesn't work in the subject.
More info about formatting

Profile

urbpan: (Default)
urbpan

May 2017

S M T W T F S
 123456
78910111213
1415 1617181920
21222324252627
28293031   

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated May. 29th, 2025 12:23 am
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios