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Black and White Bumblebee-Like Relative Found near Yosemite? Sat, Apr 11, 2009 at 3:12 PM
This might be some sort of mutant insect, because it certainly beats me. I found it rolling amongst the pebbles outside my mountain home near Yosemite, where many common bumblebees and honeybees flourish. Something is definitely off… Instead of mouth parts it has nostril like holes and the flesh above the undersized wings (it cannot fly) appears withdrawn, or peeled up.It’s first two segments have a white furry underbody and a shiny hard top. It’s last segment is shiny and hard. It has no antennae. It’s eyes are black with two red spots, one on the top and the other on the bottom portion. I figure mutations might not be your forte, but is this just a really weird insect? He’s also about an inch long.
Interested Mountain Girl
Coarsegold, near Yosemite Valley, CA

Rodent Bot Fly

Dear Interested Mountain Girl,
We wonder how long you are going to maintain your interest when you learn that though it looks like a Bumble Bee, this is actually a fly, a Bot Fly to be exact. We believe it is a Rodent Bot Fly. Bot Flies are endoparasites of various mammals and they cause swellings knows as warbles, giving the Bot Fly the name Warble Fly as well. Rodent Bot Flies tend to parasitize squirrels and rabbits. In Central America, there is a Human Bot Fly.

Wow, this is actually even cooler. I hadn’t realized we had those here, but I’d not paid much attention to the insect and bug life since I moved here a few years ago. Sorry for the poor picture quality, the camera wasn’t working at it’s best, but thank you for the amazing and prompt response, you guys really are amazing bug people!
Right now my little Bot buddy is in a glass jar with a damp paper towel and a few leaves, and he seems to be getting more active by the hour! I’ll free him pretty soon, and he can go back to his biting, buzzing ways, much to the chagrin of the local voles and bunnies.
-Interested Mountain Girl

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