Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2013/07/03
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Hi George. I heard back from my source. He is the new entomology instructor at the UW. The gist..... It is indeed a robber fly, probably Laphrina sp. , and the behavior is that it was looking for a snack. It loves to eat flying insects like bees. He sent a link with more pictures. I guess I remember more than I think I do. Don't think, just remember. Here is the exchange: > From: Evan A Sugden > Sent: Wednesday, July 03, 2013 7:02 PM > To: Aram Langhans > Subject: Re: being. with bees. Question for Dr. Edwards successor > > Right, that is a robber fly, probably Laphria sp. Obviously a bumble bee > mimic, of which there are many experts in this genus. For more pics: > http://bugguide.net/node/view/5234. > -EAS > On Wed, 3 Jul 2013, Aram Langhans wrote: > Thanks for the speedy reply. I take it that he/she was trying to prey on > the small bee at the time the picture was taken. > > Aram > A snack. I've seen them take prey as heavy as themselves (and fly with it to a feeding perch!) Some are cannibalistic. -EAS