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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Rabbit Bot Fly

never seen this one!
August 18, 2009
I was out shooting at Goose Lake Praire in Illinois and came across this red eyed black and grey bumble bee looking bug.Ive never seen one before …any ideas? One friend thought it was a bee fly but I cant find any photos that look like mine?! Also it looks like it maybe laying orange eggs or maybe thats part of the plant?
Denise
Illinois

Bot Fly Ovipositing

Rabbit Bot Fly Ovipositing

Hi Denise,
Someone has been hard at work on BugGuide identifying all the Bot Flies in the genus Cuterebra to the species level.  We do not have the necessary skills to perform that task for you.  Bot Flies are mammalian ectoparasites and they are generally very host specific.  Once we took a better look at your photographs, we realized that you caught this female Bot Fly in the act of ovipositing, or laying eggs on the grass.  We would need to further research this, but we believe the eggs hatch and then the maggots would attach to a passing/grazing host.

Bot Fly

Rabbit Bot Fly ovipositing

Comment from Karl
Daniel:
I think you are right on all points Daniel, except perhaps the ectoparasite part. It does look like a Cuterebra spp. which are opertunistic parasites of small mammals. According to the online Merck Veterinary Clinic (http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/71500.htm): “Adult Cuterebra flies are large and bee-like and do not feed or bite. Females deposit eggs around the openings of animal nests, burrows, along runways of the normal hosts, or on stones or vegetation in these areas. A female fly may deposit 5-15 eggs/site and >2,000 eggs in her lifetime. Animals become infested as they pass through contaminated areas; the eggs hatch in response to heat from a nearby host. In the target host, the larvae enter the body through the mouth or nares during grooming or, less commonly, through open wounds. After penetration, the larvae migrate to various species-specific subcutaneous locations on the body, where they develop and communicate with the air through a breathing pore. After ~30 days, the larvae exit the skin, fall to the soil, and pupate.” Sounds a bit nasty!  K

Hi Denise,
This is a female botfly, Cuterebra buccata which is a rabbit bot. Its host is generally Sylvilagus floridanus (and maybe other species of Sylvilagus in some areas). The larvae are sometimes seen in the neck or shoulder, and/or rump and hip of the rabbit. The red marks in the eyes are only observed in rabbit bots, and your location in IL helps narrow it to a few species. Luckily there is just enough of the white lower face showing in your photo to narrow it to C. buccata. They are not very often seen laying eggs, so nice to catch that on film.
equalrights4parasites

Comment from Eric Eaton
Daniel:
That is so awesome!  I know the guy who is working on Cuterebra, and I forwarded him your message.  His name is Jeff Boettner and he works in the building next door to me here at UMass.  He says that about 30% of the known bots from North America are already on Bugguide, and that the most difficult species to find are already documented, some probably imaged for the first time ever.  Keep those bots coming!
Eric

Professional Identification forwarded by Eric Eaton
Hi, Daniel:
Here is Jeff Boettner’s response….”C” is for Cuterebra, so it is Cuterebra buccata.
Eric

Awesome,
Thats C. buccata a rabbit bot. I sent a post but I am not in the loop with that group so may take a bit for it to be posted.
Jeff

Posted 18 August 2009 § Bot Flies § Eggs ‡ Comments (2) °

Tachinid Fly

Unknown insect in near the flowers/deck
August 17, 2009
This thing spent most of its time flying about in the flowers, obscuring my view of it. Managed to get this shot when it finally landed on a piece of wood. I thought it might be some sort of wasp but can’t see a stinger.
Eric
Curlew, Washington (just below the Canadian border)

Unknown Robber Fly

Unknown Robber Fly

Hi Eric,
We spent a few minutes browsing through the family Asilidae on BugGuide, without any luck identifying what we believe to be a Robber Fly.  Though we found numerous individuals with this color pattern, we could not find a conclusive match.  We will try to get some assistance from Eric Eaton to identify the species, or at least the genus.
Correction from Eric Eaton
Daniel:
The “robber fly” is actually an atypical tachinid fly, genus Cylindromyia.  Great shot of it, too!  This page from BugGuide gives more information, and there is an “images” tab at the top for more pictures.
Keep up the great work!
Eric

Thanks Eric,
We were going to research Tachinid Flies before posting, but time was running short.

Posted 18 August 2009 § Tachinid Flies ‡ Comments (0) °

Black Horse Fly

giant black fly
August 15, 2009
I found this huge fly in a wooded area by my work which is in Ajax, Ontario (just east of Toronto). It was well over an inch long, as you can see in the photo. I managed to take a picture, but the camera at my work was not the greatest, so the quality isn’t the best, but you can clearly see just how big this fly actually is.
any way is fine
Ajax, Ontario

Black Horse Fly

Black Horse Fly

Dear any way is fine,
This is a Black Horse Fly, Tabanus atratus.  Females of the species suck mammalian blood, but the males, like the one in your photo, are harmless.

Posted 17 August 2009 § Horse Flies and Deer Flies ‡ Comments (0) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Common Green Bottle Fly we believe

Fed Up With Flies
August 16, 2009
Hi,
About a week ago, we found maggots inside one of our outside trash cans. We disposed of the trash can and thoroughly cleaned the area around it as well. We are extremely clean people, so we never have food trash laying around the house, or feces, or any type of decaying matter. This is the first time we have had a problem with flies. A few days after this happened, we starting noticing swarms of flies in our basement. We have a finished basement and it is kept as clean as the rest of the house, so this was strange. Anyway, we killed all of the ones we could find with a handy dandy vacuum and newspaper. It seemed to have been over, but a few hours ago we had another bout of them, upwards of 30 or so. I did a bit of my own research online and identified them as blow flies. They are a green, blue metallic color. I also found that these flies have to lay eggs in rotting animals or organic decaying matter. We have looked EVERYWHERE in the house and around the house for possible ‘n esting sites’ yet to no avail. I am wondering where they could have come from the second time? Seeing as though there are no decaying animals or trash cans to lay eggs in, why are we getting a second round of these little guys? What can we do to make sure there’s not a round three?
Rebecca Schulte
St. Louis, Missouri

Common Green Bottle Fly

Common Green Bottle Fly

Hi Rebecca,
We believe your Blow Fly is a Common Green Bottle Fly, Lucilia sericata.  We have gotten similar accounts in the past and the seemingly magical appearance of flies in ancient times fostered the belief in Spontaneous Generation.  It is possible that there is a dead animal somewhere within your walls that is causing the flies to appear.  It should also be noted that the maggots crawl away from the food source to pupate.  The maggots might have migrated before you located the problem,  and even if the source of the infestation has been located, the pupae are most likely in a different location.  Once metamorphosis occurs, the flies seem to magically appear.  We expect that you are probably at the end of this annoying household intrusion.

Common Green Bottle Fly

Common Green Bottle Fly

Posted 16 August 2009 § blow flies ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Horse Fly

Albino Fly?
August 16, 2009
This bug was filmed in keystone heights florida. What is it? It looks like a fly, but not. I did save it after it died and still have it.
I couldn’t get a decent photo of it, but here is a movie
http://hartmanndesign.net/whitebug.mov
Clair
Northern Florida

Horse Fly: Chlorotabanus crepuscularis

Horse Fly: Chlorotabanus crepuscularis

Hi Clair,
This is Chlorotabanus crepuscularis, a species of Horse Fly.  According to BugGuide:  “Identification  Body pale green, eyes and thorax yellowish green. The only green tabanid in NA.  Range  An eastern species occurring south of a line from Delaware to southern Texas.  Habitat  Larvae predaceous, usually in soil at edge of water and in floating vegetation, occasionally in forest soil.  Adults in vicinity of larval habitats  Season  In Florida, flying from mid-March to mid-September with peak activity from May to mid-July.  Food  Females feed on mammalian blood  Remarks  As with all the blood-feeding tabanids, the females are responsive to Carbon Dioxide. I caught over 500 females in one night with a trap baited with dry ice in coastal South Carolina. Will also come to lights at night.
Regarded as a pest species in Florida“

Posted 16 August 2009 § Horse Flies and Deer Flies ‡ Comments (0) °

Bee Killer eats European Paper Wasp

We saw this bug eating a wasp. We’ve never seen one before. What is it?
August 15, 2009
We saw this bug eating a wasp. We’ve never seen one before. What is it?
• Your letter to the bugman    Please help us identify this ugly unusual furry bug preying on a wasp. We live in the Los Angeles area and this was in our back yard.
Sincerely, Daniel and Jill
Los Angeles, CA

Bee Killer eats Golden Paper Wasp

Bee Killer eats Golden Paper Wasp

Dear Daniel and Jill,
The predator is a Robber Fly known as a Bee Killer, Mallophora fautrix, and the prey is a Golden Paper Wasp, Polistes aurifer.

Correction
August 15, 2009
The prey here is the European Paper Wasp, Polistes dominulus.
bugbrainz

Thanks for the correction. According to BugGuide:  “no other species of Vespidae has mostly orange antennae.”

Posted 15 August 2009 § Paper Wasps § Robber Flies ‡ Comments (1) ° Tagged:

Pigeon Louse Fly, we believe

Louse Fly! Self defense or carnage?
August 13, 2009
This handsom fellow decided to scuttle off a patient I was holding and onto my shirt. While I’m very bug friendly, something about a tick with wings was scary. The patient I was holding was a red tail hawk, so needless to say I couldn’t let him go as I was more concerned about raptor claws than the ugly flat bug. After searching it looks like this is some kind of louse fly, you only seem to have one from England on your web page so here is another. I hmm impaled it on a very small 25 g needle, though it looks like a railroad spike in the pics. I didn’t want it jumping ship and visiting some of our more domestic patients avian or otherwise. From your one post it looks like they are species specific like lice. I still call it defense, at least of the patients in the animal hospital, but maybe it’s carnage? Oh he’s 1 cm long and flat as a tick, flies at a moderate pace, and scuttles sideways when walking.
Jess
Rhode Island, USA

Pigeon Louse Fly

Pigeon Louse Fly

Hi Jess,
Extenuating circumstances are always considered when we try to decide if a posting with a dead insect should be tagged as Unnecessary Carnage.  You are off the hook on this one in our mind, but another jury may decide differently.  We believe this is a Pigeon Louse Fly, Pseudolynchia canariensis, an introduced species from Europe.  BugGuide has the following information on the Pigeon Louse Fly:  “Range  Found wherever pigeons are encountered in tropical, subtropical, and temperate areas with mild winters worldwide. It occurs throughout the Southeastern United States. Imported from Europe.
Food  A common ectoparasite of pigeons and doves
Life Cycle  Louse flies have a very interesting reproductive strategy. The female produces one larva at a time and retains the developing larva in her body until it is ready to pupate. The larva feeds on the secretions of a “milk gland” in the uterus of its mother. After three larval instars, the larva has reached its maximum size, the mother gives birth to the white pre-pupa which immediately begins to darken and form the puparium or pupal shell. The pupa of the pigeon louse fly looks like a dark brown, egg-shaped seed. The pupa is found in the nest of the host or on ledges where the birds roost. When the fly has completed its metamorphosis, the winged adult emerges from the puparium and flies in search of a host.
Remarks  Both adult males and females feed on the blood of their host. They are adapted for clinging to and moving through the plumage and pelage of their hosts. Strongly specialized claws help them cling to the hair or feathers of their particular host species. Pigeon flies retain their wings for their entire adult life.  This fly is a carrier of a protozoan disease, pigeon malaria.“  Since hawks prey upon pigeons, we suspect this Pigeon Louse Fly may have “jumped ship” when its intended host was snatched by the hawk.

Pigeon Louse Fly

Pigeon Louse Fly

We do have additional images of Louse Flies on our site, but when we migrated last year, we did not sub-classify the flies.  Our archive is so extensive.  We are trying to create subcategories for new postings, and the old ones may have to wait for a paid intern.  That sounds like an excellent opportunity for a grant for a graduate student.

Pigeon Louse Fly

Pigeon Louse Fly

Posted 13 August 2009 § Louse Flies ‡ Comments (0) °

Robber Fly from Mexico

Huge scary Mosquito like creature
August 12, 2009
Hi there,
We found this critter resting on the floor of our outside terrace. It looks positively dangerous…i had my husband put it in a tupperware for the meantime as it seems a bit risky to leave it flying around. I would say it stands approx 1 inch tall and 2 inches long and its spiky proboscis looks to be around 5mm long…It mostly black with a redish abdomen and a white marking between it’s eyes, its legs and thorax are hairy!…I just can’t get over how chunky it looks.
We live on the coast in Southern Mexico…hope you can identify it!! It’s life is in your hands!
Jenny
Zihuatanejo MEX

Robber Fly from Mexico: Archilestris magnificus

Robber Fly from Mexico: Archilestris magnificus

Hi Jenny,
We hope we are not too late to save the life of this majestic Robber Fly, Archilestris magnificus.  Robber Flies, though fierce predators, do not attack humans.  We would not go so far as to say that they will never bite, as they are capable of biting, and if carelessly handled, a Robber Fly might be inclined to bite out of self preservation. We received our first submission of this species last summer, and that image was also posted to BugGuide where it made quite a stir.  The species is now reported with some degree of frequency from Arizona.

Posted 12 August 2009 § Robber Flies ‡ Comments (0) °

Robber Fly eats Grasshopper

Carnage, Purely Natural!
August 10, 2009
Thanks again for providing such a great resource. I have e-mailed before about a Regal Jumping Spider in October of 2008 and have used your archives so many times to identify the critters I stumble across. You were a help again today to identify this Robber Fly that I photographed today at Troy Springs State Park in north-central Florida. Your previous example was unfortunately squished so I thought I would share my photos of a Robber Fly doing the squishing… or sucking. I also hope that you don’t mind that I recommended your page on my blog, 365 Days Through the Eyes of a Park Ranger (www.rangervision.blogspot.com).
Keep up the great work and thanks for the effort that you put into this site even with your busy schedules.
Amy
Branford, FL

Robber Fly eats Grasshopper
Robber Fly eats Grasshopper

Hi Amy,
First we must clarify that we do not consider Food Chain images to be carnage.  Carnage is senseless slaughter.  Your photo depicts the beauty of the natural world.  We are honored to be recommended on your blog as we have tremendous respect for park rangers.  We believe your Robber Fly is in the subfamily Asilinae which has many genera represented on BugGuide, but we are uncertain of the genus or species.  Perhaps a specialist in the Family will write in and assist in this identification.

Robber Fly eats Grasshopper
Robber Fly eats Grasshopper

Posted 10 August 2009 § Robber Flies ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Picture Winged Fly

Better photos (hopefully) of” Looks like an ant but has strange wings”
August 8, 2009
Here are some new photos, maybe they are better than the last one I submitted. I am stumped, Bugman. Is this a fly or an ant? I see them on the west side of my house usually in the morning before it gets too hot. I have looked at hundreds of photos of flying insects on your site and on the web and have yet to figure out this mystery bug. They are the size of an ant with one pair of black roundish wings. Can you solve the mystery?
Kristin N.
Dallas, Texas

Picture Winged Fly

Picture Winged Fly

Hi Kristin,
This is a Picture Winged Fly, Delphinia picta, and according to BugGuide, it:  “Breeds in decaying organic matter, such as compost.”  ONe reader once described its head as looking like that of a horse.

Posted 09 August 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Robber Fly, killed with a shoe out of fear

Strange Wasp Flew into Home. Never Seen before!
August 7, 2009
Hello. I was recently helping move furniture out of my basement to help my sibling move out, and as I was returning through the door a massive dark bug flew in front of me and came inside. The bug was very large, about 2 inches long, and it made very loud buzzing. It landed on our ceiling lights, so we left the door open and turned off the lights hoping it would leave. Unfortunately, it decided to fly onto my mother, and fearing that it would sting her, we had to kill it with a shoe. Though the bug has been squished, I’m hoping I had reasonable cause to kill it and am hoping you can identify it. It had two wings, the body was entirely dark with no yellow, and the long abdomen was black with brown stripes. I have lived in Southeast Tennessee for 10 years and neither I nor my parents have ever seen a bug like this. Please let me know if you can figure it out!
VolFan89
Chattanooga, TN

Robber Fly Squished

Robber Fly Squished

Hi VolFan89,
This is a Robber Fly in the family Asilidae, and they do not routinely attack humans, though if carelessly handled or threatened, we suspect they might bite.  We fully understand your fear and the reaction that caused you to squish this Robber Fly with a shoe, and we intend no malice in our assessment of Unnecessary Carnage.  We do not intend to imply that you are evil because of your instinctive protective action, and we hope that this will educate you in the future should you ever again encounter a Robber Fly.  Robber Flies are important predators and they should not be killed.  We are trying to use caution in our choice of words because we have recently been accused of libel and malicious intent and defamation of character after performing a free public service and identifying dead insects that we thought were killed unnecessarily and then posting the responses.  It has always been our intent to educate people and not to chastise.

The querant responds
I just don’t see the necessity to “file it under Unnecessary Carnage”. You guys are creating this problem for yourself when you could just leave it well enough alone. A simple suggestion would suffice, such as saying “They aren’t typically a threat, so please refrain from killing them.” instead of making every single person look like a criminal. A large and scary looking insect on somebody you love is a well enough reason to kill it, and condemning somebody for it is not my idea of rightful. Unfortunately, I agree that you’re violating your 1st amendment rights and committing libel, but hopefully whoever is suing you has lawyers that can reveal it better than  I can.

“A large and scary looking insect on somebody you love is a well enough reason to kill it” is precisely the reason it needs to be filed under Unnecessary Carnage.  Just because something is scary looking does not mean it is harmful and if every scary looking thing is killed, there might soon be nothing left on the planet.  Some people might even be scary looking. Calling an act unnecessary is not a libelous statement. Criminal is your word, not our word.  While we maintain that we bear no malice towards people who kill insects because they don’t know any better, it seems as though the statement “Unfortunately, I agree that you’re violating your 1st amendment rights and committing libel, but hopefully whoever is suing you has lawyers that can reveal it better than I can” does contain a degree of ill will directed towards What’s That Bug?  It does give one pause to ponder just who bears malice toward whom.

Unnecessary Carnage Comment
August 9, 2009
RE: unnecessary carnage
I love your site, and visit it several times a day. Many thanks for posting such lovely images and so much information (you helped me ID a one-eyed Sphinx moth here in Seattle)! I also love the fact that you tell folks when they have committed an act of unnecessary carnage, but sadly, you have been very hesitant to do so lately… Please don’t let one or two unhinged people keep you from providing a vital service- letting humans know that insects are innocent until proven guilty!
Leah S.

Posted 08 August 2009 § Robber Flies ‡ Comments (2) ° Tagged:

Belzebul Bee Eater

Possible Robber Fly?
August 6, 2009
Photos taken today, 8-6-09, of our latest Prehistoric Pet in Coryell County, Central Texas. Is it a Robber Fly? BZZZZT!
It can keep the gigantic Tarantula Hawks company. So nice to have (Huge. Black. Flying.) insects buzzing from tree to tree. Makes a nice change from bird watching. :o )
Ellen
Coryell County, Central Texas, semi arid scrub country with oaks, mesquite, limestone and clay soil

Belzebul Bee Eater

Belzebul Bee Eater

Hi Ellen,
There are several insects with common names that are associated with the devil, like the Devil’s Coach Horse and the Hickory Horned Devil, but few have the distinction that your Robber Fly has.  According to BugGuide, your Mallophora leschenaulti is the Belzebul Bee Eater. Flies have had a long association with Satan in writing and this has been further communicated in numerous Hollywood films as well as foreign films like the Dario Argento classic Suspiria.  If ever a fly’s appearance warranted such an association, it is the huge and hairy Mallophora leschenaulti, though it is worth noting that this frightening predator has no interest in biting humans.  That said, we would not try to carelessly handle a living specimen for fear that the captive might bite out of self defense.  The Belzebul Bee Eater is one of the large hairy Robber Flies in the genus known as Bee Killers, and members of this genus can be distinguished by the thin terminal segment of the antennae.  BugGuide reports that “Eggs of M. leschenaulti laid on upright stems but the larva are soil living. Sometimes concentrated in animal pens with dung and decay or in compost heaps.“  We would surmise that the larvae do not feed on decaying matter, but that they are predatory and feed upon other insects attracted to this foul environment. BugGuide lists the geographical range of the Belzebul Bee Eater as Texas and Mexico.

Belzebul Bee Eater

Belzebul Bee Eater

Thank you, Daniel. Having a decent sense of self preservation, I kept my distance from our visitor as far as possible, hence the not-quite-in-focus photos. It did not like the yardstick and buzzed around the yard for awhile, kind of like a cargo plane, before alighting again. I shamelessly ran for cover while it was flying. In one photo you can see it eyeing me. Yikes.
I appreciate your speedy and interesting reply!
Sadly, we do not have many bees this year, although we do have some visiting our crepe myrtle trees, which is where the Belzebul Bee Eater was hanging out.
Take care.

Thanks for the follow-up information Ellen.  Though the photo with the yardstick did not make it to our site as it did not have as much detail as the other photos, it did appear that the abdomen of the Belzebul Bee Eater was in contact with the branch.  We wonder, perhaps, if the fly was ovipositing as indicated on BugGuide.

Posted 07 August 2009 § Robber Flies ‡ Comments (0) °

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