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
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
Bee eating another bee
August 6, 2009
We saw a bee catch another bee in midair. It then flew away with it’s prey in mouth only to get eaten by a bird in midair. Food chain in action!
Jonathan Bergado
Santa Fe Springs, CA
Bee Killer Kills Bee
Hi Jonathan,
The predator in your photo is not a Bee, but rather a Robber Fly known as a Bee Killer. It is Mallophora fautrix, the only member of the genus in California according to BugGuide. The prey is a Honey Bee.
Bee KIller Kills Bee
Cicada Killer
August 5, 2009
Hello 
I recently found this interesting wasp looking bug hanging from my balcony holding a cicada. Normally, I would not have known what the heck was going on here (some kind of inter-species fling??) But just that morning, I had read an article in the local newsletter about these interesting bugs, and decided to take a few pics. The article was lettiong members of the community know to not kill them or try to exterminate them, that they are a “good bug” (as most are, but still we have to squish or swat them out of fear)
After perusing your site for the identification of a house centipede (a very scary million-legged beast that was crawling around with our son on the floor. Unfortunately, after reading about it, I would have tried to put it outside to battle our spider problem…) I thought about the pictures I had taken of the cool Cicada Killer in action. I thought that they would be a great addition to your site and some good education for paeple that may not know about them. Sadly, the Cicada Killer could not keep holding on to the balcony with one leg, and dropped his prey, so I got a pic of that too (quite a pretty cicada actually).
Enjoy and keep doin what youre doin, and thanks for my newfound interest in bugs
Cool Bug Lover
Washington, DC
Cicada Killer and Annual Cicada
Dear Cool Bug Lover,
Thanks for sending us your great food chain images of a Cicada Killer and an Annual Cicada. Female Cicada Killers are used to struggling with their large ungainly prey and we suspect she eventually arrived at her burrow with her catch. The Cicada Killer takes advantage of gravity by climbing trees and other tall structures and gliding toward the nest with the prey in tow. We are also gladdened to hear your local newsletter is promoting tolerance of Cicada Killers which terrify many of our readers.
Cicada Killer and Annual Cicada Prey
Crane Fly with a hefty meal I suspect?
August 1, 2009
I was at a park and I saw a pair (attached) of flying insects buzz by and so I naturally went over to have a look. I was expecting a mating pair but then I saw this. The blurry picture was while what I suspect is a Crane Fly was grappling for better control of the wasp (also a very windy day). I’m curious, is this indeed a Crane Fly?
Jeff
Mount Pleasant, SC (near Charleston)
- Hanging Thief eats Red Wasp
Hi Jeff,
Your predator is a Robber Fly known as a Hanging Thief in the genus Diogmites which may be viewed on BugGuide, and the prey is a Red Wasp, Polistes carolina, which can also be viewed on BugGuide. Hanging Thieves often catch their prey while flying. Hanging Thieves get their common name from their habit of hanging from one leg while eating.
Giant bee eating Japanese beetle
July 30, 2009
Hello!
While working in my garden, i came across what appeared to be a giant bumblebee eating a Japanese beetle. The bee had a fuzzy abdomen that was striped yellow and black. It was between 1 3/4 ” and 2 ” long. The Japanese beetle was 1/2 ” long. The bee was flying around holding the beetle in it’s mouth. It was huge! Any ideas on what it is?
tree
Floyd county, VA
Bee-Like Robber Fly eats Japanese Beetle
Hi tree,
About a week ago we receive a question if Robber Flies ate Japanese Beetles. We wish your photo had arrived before we answered. Since Japanese Beetles are an invasive exotic species that does considerable damage to ornamental plants, many gardeners would welcome these Robber Flies into their yards, including our own mother in Ohio. This is a Bee-Like Robber Fly in the genus Laphria, which can be distinguished from the genus Mallophora by the antennae. This is explained on BugGuide on the Mallophora genus page thus: “Resemble Laphria, another genus of robbers that mimic bumblebees, but is even hairier and has antennae with a very thin terminal final segment, whereas Laphria has thick antennae.“ Based on images posted to BugGuide, we believe your specimen most closely resembles Laphria grossa, but we would like an expert confirmation on the species.
Bee-Like Robber Fly eats Japanese Beetle
Carpenter Ants Devour Emerging Cicada
July 29, 2009
Dear Bug Man:
Thought you might be able to use one of these photos in your “food chain’ category. My son called me over to an old oak tree, to see a group of carpenter ants eating what he thought was a large caterpillar. When I got there, I could see it was an emerging cicada. I don’t know if the cicada died as a result of not being able to emerge fully from it’s nymphal skin, and the ants were just scavenging the carcass. Or, if the ants started attacking it shortly after it crawled up the tree. No idea what type of cicade this one is, but parts of it were a lovely turquoise green. This was the only cicada on the whole tree–no other shells or nymphs were around. Was this cicada’s biological clock working OK?
Chris O.
Wildwood Park, near Toledo, OH
Carpenter Ants devour emergent Cicada
Hi Chris,
Thanks so much for sending us your wonderful food chain documentation of Carpenter Ants devouring an Annual Cicada that was in the process of metamorphosis. We suspect the Carpenter Ants attacked the Cicada while it was helpless and unable to escape. The Cicada’s biological clock was right on time, as they emerge during the summer. This is an Annual Cicada, and unlike the Periodical Cicadas that emerge every 14 or 17 years, the Annual Cicadas emerge each year.
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¶ Posted 29 July 2009 § Ants § Cicadas ‡ ° Also tagged: Mystery bug on milkweed
July 28, 2009
I live in the Houston area. I am finding these strange larva on my tropical milkweed – along with the ever-present aphids. I don’t know whether to squish them or protect them. Are they good or bad?
Sherrie
Houston, TX
Syrphid Fly Larvae eat Oleander Aphids
Hi Sherrie,
These Syrphid Fly larvae are predators in the family Syrphidae that are feeding on the Aphids. The adult flies are sometimes called Flower Flies or Hover Flies and they are pollinating insects. We don’t know exactly what genus or species your Syrphid Fly Larvae belong to, but they should not be squished. Here is a link to the Syrphid Fly Larvae posted on BugGuide. The Aphids are Oleander Aphids, Aphis nerii, and they are common on Milkweed. They infest our outdoor Hoya species in Los Angeles. You can read more about the Oleander Aphid on BugGuide as well.
Update:
syrphid larvae
April 25, 2010
Oh my gosh! Thank you for this website! I went out with a wet papertowel to remove the hundreds of aphids on my Japanese Maple and saw these little worms/catapillars on my tree. I decided to look them up before removing them because it looked like they were eating the aphids. I found the answer real easy by Googling “aphid eating worms” and you were the first site that popped up. YAY! Thank you for this service and saving the syrphid : )
Lorraine
Fishing Spider
July 28, 2009
WTB,
I promised you these a long time ago. Here are the images of a spider
eating the frog. It’s a little hard to make out but it is probably a green
tree frog and this is on a leaf of a Sagittaria. It occurred in our little
nature area, the Kiawah Swamp Garden. Not sure of the actual type of
spider. Kinda creepy though; don’t usually consider consumption in that
direction among Phyla.
Here are a couple of other links for your enjoyment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PZTILeS4jo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFg2-bkjwPg
KICA Maint
Kiawah Island, SC
February 29, 2008
Thanks for checking on this. We’ve used your site to ID a lot of our
questions already but this one had us stumped. I’ll have to send you an
image we have of a spider, I’m assuming a fishing spider, eating a green
tree frog. It was back pre-digital so we’ll see how the scan comes out.
Thanks again for the great work you do,
Norm Shea
Director, Lakes Management
Six Spotted Fishing Spider eats Tree Frog
Dear KICA Maint,
Thanks for sending these amazing documents of a Six Spotted Fishing Spider eating a Tree Frog. It is a wonderful addition to our recent posting of a Common House Spider feasting on a Skink. We enjoyed watching your videos of Alligators.
Six Spotted Fishing Spider eats Tree Frog
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