What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Southern Bee Killer

Posted by May 30th, 2006 at 12:00 am

Categories

Robber Flies

Tags

Interesting bee photo!
Hi,
Last year I was mowing the yard, and I saw what appeared to be a huge bee flying towards my face. It turned out to be a bumble bee flying about with a honey bee in it’s mouth. It was flying around, and landed on a bush, to apparently devour the bee. It allowed me to get close enough to snap a couple of pics. Can you tell me if this is normal behavior? Here it is.
Thanks!
Richard Staron
Houston, Texas

beekiller robber Southern Bee Killer

Hi Richard,
This is most certainly not normal behavior for a Bumble Bee, but it is perfectly normal for a Southern Bee Killer, Mallophora orcina, a species of Robber Fly.

Related Posts

 

Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. You can also subscribe without commenting.

Post a Comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.