insect four times larger than a wasp
Location: Dalmatian coast in Croatia
June 22, 2011 2:28 pm
Hi,
I was on holiday in Croatia and took a picture of this huge insect that is eating a wasp.
I would like to know what kind of insect it is?
Thanks in advanced!
Regards
Zrinko Culjak
Signature: Dalmatian insect
Croatian Robber Fly with Prey
Dear Zrinko,
What a magnificent Robber Fly. Robber Flies are top of the food chain predators and we love that it is eating a wasp. Some species of Robber Flies are known as Bee Killers and they often prey upon Honey Bees. The are real marauders around bee hives in the minds of many bee keepers.
We quickly found this matching photo on the New Scientist website. Alas, the species is not identified. Seems that posting has produced a lively blog page but I don’t believe the species name of the Robber Fly has been determined. Anyone care to help?
Attack of the flies!
Location: Pleasanton, CA
June 20, 2011 3:45 pm
Before this morning, I haven’t seen more than 2 flies in my home at one time. Last night the coast was clear and then this morning I woke up to my hallway covered in these suckers. They look like house flies but gray and probably like 5 times bigger. At first none of them were flying, only crawling around like a spider would but then when it started to get warmer during the day they flew all over. I took to the internet and tried to identify the best I could and the closest I saw was a stable fly. Um, how and why?! Orkin man came later on in the day and sprayed and said that I had nothing to worry about that it’s not what I think it is. He told me that it’s just a bigger version of a green house fly. I was comforted until he said that because it looks nothing like that! These things are resilient too. I sprayed one with Windex and Pinsol and then stomped on it and it was still squirming!
These are the best pictures that I could get since all the other ones I killed have all their guts smashed out and markings are not quite visible any longer.
Please tell me I’m wrong in thinking that this is a stable fly. I would love to be wrong. And/or tell me that I’m overreacting to the dangers. I keep thinking that I’ll go to sleep tonight just to wake up to welts from bites and have more of these suckers on the wall and everywhere around me!
Signature: Scared and paranoid
Flesh Fly
Dear Scared and paranoid,
We hope we are able to comfort you by telling you that this is NOT a Stable Fly, though our actual identification might send you over the edge. This is a Flesh Fly in the family Sarcophagidae. We also don’t believe the Orkin Man solved your problem, though we are certain he had no problems separating you from your money. All he could succeed in doing was to kill the living Flesh Flies that had emerged in your home, but he could do nothing to prevent future occurrences. Flesh Flies do not bite and the adults do not pose any threat to you. Flesh Flies breed in decaying organic matter, including decomposing animals. Perhaps there was a dead animal in the walls which resulted in your Flesh Fly invasion. When the weather is warm, Flesh Flies may breed very quickly in decaying food like meat bones and fat or fish carcasses in the garbage can that has not been properly emptied. Once, we had some rotten potatoes under the sink and that proved to be a breeding ground for Flesh Flies. You need to locate the source of the invasion, though Flesh Flies will not continue to breed in a carcass once it has passed a certain stage of decomposition. Generally, once the original infestation has occurred, you do not need to worry about subsequent invasions. See BugGuide for additional information on Flesh Flies.
2
unidentified bug
Location: Cumbria, UK
June 19, 2011 2:13 pm
Hi there, great wesbite! Could you please let me know what this bug is?
It was in my friend’s room in the Lake District, UK today. It’s late spring/early summer just now and it was mid afternoon.
He said it was about an inch long.
Many thanks
Signature: Chogma
black & white wasp with translucent upper abdomen
Location: Cumbria, UK
June 19, 2011 3:15 pm
hi –
any idea who this fellow is? i found him in my room this afternoon here in the English Lake District. he was about 1-1.5 inches long and most closely resembled some kind of a wasp in shape.
any help greatly appreciated!
Signature: dougal
Hover Fly
Dear Chogma and dougal,
Within about an hour of one another, you each sent the same image for identification. This large Hover Fly, Volucella pellucens, is written about on the Nature Spot Leicestershire & Rutland website as being: “Sometimes called the Pellucid Hoverfly, this is one of the largest flies in Britain. It has a striking ivory-white band across its middle and large dark spots on its wings.” You may read more on TrekNature.
peach borer or mimic?
Location: powhatan county, virginia
June 17, 2011 10:22 am
there is a low-cut, decomposing stump in my flower bed, from a tree felled many years ago (hardwood, not fruit). when tending the flowers, i noticed and collected this insect, as well as several pupae cases (from which another like insect was emerging), from around the base of the stump on june 16, 2011.
i am not convinced it is a peach borer, because the antennae are very different, as are the eyes/head – more fly-like. the orange band is higher up on the abdomen, and the wings at rest fold over one another. i’m fairly certain it has only one set of wings. any info would be appreciated!
Signature: bugwatcher
Mydas Fly
Hi bugwatcher,
This incredible creature is a Mydas Fly, Mydas clavatus, and according to BugGuide, it is a: “Large black fly with red/orange mark on top (dorsum) of 2nd abdominal segment. Body hairless, cylindrical. Eyes large. Antennae are distinctively clubbed in the Mydidae. This species flies rather boldly in the open. With the black-and-orange pattern, it resembles a wasp and fools the casual observer.” The larvae live in compost piles, soil and rotting wood where they feed on June Beetle Larvae. According to BugGuide: “Eggs are laid singly in soil or rotting wood. (See video of oviposition–Flickr). Mydas larvae prey on beetle larvae, esp. those of June beetles. Larvae pupate close to soil (or wood?) surface. Adults are active only in mid-summer. Mating system in this species unknown.” You are observant in noticing that the Mydas Fly, in addition to mimicking Spider Wasps, looks very similar to a female Peach Tree Borer. The Peach Tree Borers are also wasp mimics, as you can see in this photo from our archives.
Mydas Fly Pupa
thank you so much. the more i talked about fly characteristics, i looked up all the flies on your site, and found Mydas after i had sent my email. i was thrilled to discover what it was, and promptly let it go. a beautiful fly, and a garden helper at that. when it flies, it has a very nice low buzz, also wasp-like and intimidating. i feel fortunate to have been able to examine it so closely during it’s brief adult stage. thank you again for your prompt response and devotion to the site.
1
cockajacket?
Location: South Florida (Pompano) 06/09/2011
June 9, 2011 11:28 pm
This bug looks like a cockaroach/yellowjacket. Very Strange and never seen before. Many of us have tried to figure it out but we’ve never seen it before! HELP!
Signature: Lisa
Hanging Thief
Hi Lisa,
This very distinctive insect is a Robber Fly in the genus Diogmites, a group known as the Hanging Thieves because they often eat their prey while hanging upsidedown from a single leg.
very cool thank you. I thought it was Great Golden Digger Wasp!
Yellow spotted fly
Location: Biggsville, Il.
June 9, 2011 10:06 am
Yesterday I saw what I believe to be a fly in the shade garden. It had one bright yellow spot on it.
Signature: Randy
Golden Backed Snipe Fly
Hi Randy,
Each June we get several identification requests for Golden Backed Snipe Flies from the northern states in the midwest.
Looks like a bumblebee with a fly bottom?
Location: Petawawa, Ontario
June 8, 2011 10:36 pm
When I found this lovely critter beside my pool, I thought it must be a half-drowned bumblebee as it’s about the same size and shape as a bumblebee. I poked it gently with a stick to see if it was alive,and it squirted something out of it’s rear end in a stream of what I figured was some sort of venom. (It got some distance with the spray, too, about 12 inches in a fine arc onto my lawn!)
I quickly got a bottle (and lid) from the house to carefully capture it and get a better look. It didn’t seem to have a mouth or a stinger, and had a fuzzy head but shiny bottom like a fly. Also, I noticed it didn’t have the same kind of wings as a bee. After I did some online searching and overcame the heebee jeebees, we got some clearer pics, this hefty fella was flushed down the toilet… just to be safe.
After you correctly identified our Luna Moth visitor, I knew exactly where to go for an answer on this one. Am I close with my guess that this is some type of botfly? It doesn’t have the red stripes on it’s eyes that I’ve seen from some other images, but the shape of the body and other features look familiar.
Signature: Anderson Family
Bot Fly
Dear Anderson Family,
We will leave the species identification to the experts, but you are absolutely correct in your guess that this is a Bot Fly in the genus Cuterebra. Of the species on bugGuide, out best guess would be Cuterebra emasculator, and there is a comment posted that includes this information: “This is our only golden haired bot in the Northeast and this species can be found anywhere east of the Mississippi although rarely seen. It is primarily host specific in the Northeast on chipmunks, Tamias striatus.”
What kinda bugs are this pair?
Location: Jacksonville, Florida
June 1, 2011 9:47 pm
Hi, I took this picture today thru the screen of our lanai. The bugs are doing the love dance and stayed that way for at least an hour. We live in Jacksonville, FL where the weather today was a steamy 89 degrees. I have never seen these bugs before, not flying, not crawling; not at all. I did post it on Face Book where someone thought it was a locust, but I looked at pix and their legs are not that long. Would love to know what this pair is. We’ve seen all kinds of creepy crawly things in Florida, this is a new one for us. Thanx for your help.
Signature: Warm Regards, Sunnie Ellis
Mating Robber Flies
Hi Sunnie,
These are mating Robber Flies. We will be out of the office for a week and we have prepared your posting to go live next week in our absence.
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