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Greater Bee Fly
(05/01/2008) clear wing spynix moth?
Hi, I love your site. While watching the honey bees enjoy
the first nectar of the year, I spotted what looks like a
petite clearwing sphinx moth. I've never seen or heard of
one so small - smaller than a honey bee. After watching for
a few days, I've seen there are several of the little guys
visiting our flowers. These little fella's have a rigid
proboscis (is proboscis accurate?), and the largest of them
are slightly less than 1 inch long (measuring from head
to rear of abdomen). Please help me to accurately identify
them. Thank you.
Rachel, West Virginia
Hi Rachel,
This is a Greater Bee Fly, Bombylius major. Proboscis is the
proper term for its mouth.
Bloodworms
(04/29/2008) 1 cm long Red Nematode-like Worm in the Pool
Water
I love your website, What’s That Bug. I’ve
used it dozens of times to identify insects around my neighborhood
and workplace. Now I’d like to try your amazing knowledge
on these little wigglers! Every spring when opening our family
above-ground pool, I find hundreds of 1 cm long red segmented
nematode-like very wiggly worms in the pool water. They have
a small black head, small legs near the head, a forked tail,
are semi-clear with a dark gut, and are very wiggly. So what
are they?
Jeff Smith
Ross, Ohio
Hi Jeff,
These are Bloodworms. Bloodworms are the aquatic larvae of
non-biting Midges in the genus Chironomus.
They are a prized live food for tropical fish kept by aquarists.
Golden
Dung Fly
(04/28/2008) Golden Dung Fly (Scathophaga stercoraria), New
Hope, PA
Taken last week while visiting friends for Passover. They
have a sheep farm and with sheep come, well, dung. Upon the
dung were these lovely golden fuzzy flies. I did my best
to get a couple photos of these quick moving critters. This
particular one is a larger one. There was a smaller sized
fly of the same variety hanging out nearby (presumably the
opposite sex). I was able to identify them through buggide.net
.
Tamar
 
Hi Tamar,
Thanks so much for adding a new species to our website. The
Golden Dung Fly is a very welcome addition.
Mating March Flies
(04/22/2008) What is this bug? Please
Hello, Could you please tell me what these are? I live
in California on the Central Coast and found these in my backyard.
I have never seen these in my area and would like to know
if they are harmful as they were mating. Thank You
Maryann
Hi Maryann,
These are mating March Flies in the family Bibionidae. You
can find more information on BugGuide
which states: "Larvae feed on decaying organic matter, such
as feces, roots, logs", so they are actually beneficial. Some
species, notably Love Bugs in Florida and the Southeast, can
get very numerous at times and become a nuisance. The male
has the bigger eyes and corresponding bigger head.
Greater Bee Fly
(04/21/2008) Bee or fly or moth?
Hi Lisa and Daniel,
What's That Bug is one of my daily stops--I love seeing all
the new bugs people send in, and I have used your site to
identify many insects I've photographed, not to mention just
browsing through all the beautiful bugs in your galleries!
I have an identification question for you. The last few days
I've encountered these insects flying around the edges of
a small open field behind the gardens at my college in upstate
New York. They're between a third and a half an inch long,
and they are very good at hovering. As you can see, they're
almost bee-shaped and -colored, and their wings are clear
with darkish veins, I think (it was hard to tell since they
were always moving). It seems like a bee, but I've never seen
a bee with legs that long. I know some moths hover and mimic
bees, but I thought those species were larger than this. It
can hover in place very precisely, which makes me think hoverfly,
but they're not usually furry. I've tried all of these descriptions
on your site and on google, but no success. Any ideas? Thanks,
Susan
Hi Susan,
Thanks for the compliments. Your insect is a Greater Bee Fly,
Bombylius major.
Mating Tachinid Flies
(04/19/2008) More bug love
Hello,
Attached are a few images of a mating pair of some wonderfully
colored flies. I love the furry collar around their necks,
not to mention the huge red eyes. The images of the lone fly
are of, I assume, the female after the male has flown off.
They were very kind to stay still while I got in close to
take their picture. I would say they are no larger than a
1/4 inch long. Any idea what they may be? The images were
taken April 18, 2008 in a small field of mallow and grass
in Mountain View, CA. This was probably the first week of
the year temperatures reached over 80 degrees. All the bugs
are finally coming out of the wood work. Thanks in advance,
Dan
 
Hi Dan,
What a marvelous image of mating Tachinid Flies in the genus
Gymnosoma. According to BugGuide,
adults feed on nectar and the larvae are parasitic on Stink
Bugs in the family Pentatomidae.
Bee Fly from UK
(04/09/2008) What's this bug?
Hi,
I’m in the uk, so I don’t know if you can help,
but I saw this amusing fly (?) yesterday, and wonder what
it is? It has a very long nose, which was a bit yellow with
pollen.. but its wings and eyes looked like a flies’.
Thank you for looking!
Kate Ward
Hi Kate,
Your fly is a Bee Fly, most probably Bombylius
major which is the most commonly seen of the dozen species
of Bee Flies found in the UK.
Unknown Fruit Fly
(03/31/2008) unknown fruit fly??
In the photos attached are some sort of fly that attacks my
artichoke plants. they wander around the artichoke heads and
stick their ugly egg laying thing into the creases of the
flower head that is trying to grow. then their maggots eat
holes (i believe) and ultimately damage the crop. Please help
me identify this pest. and any methods i can use to trap them.
I want to rid my garden of pests without the use of chemicals.
Thanks Bugman.
Chris McCrea
Vallejo, California
Hi Chris,
Fruit Flies in the family Tephritinae, as depicted on BugGuide,
often have ovipositors like the specimen in your photo. They
also tend to have banded wings which your specimen does not
have. We couldn't locate a convincing match, but we will contact
Eric Eaton to see if he has any ideas.
Greater
Bee Fly
(03/29/2008) Bee fly on grape plant
I found these bee flies on young grape plants in my backyard
in Dallas TX. Bombylius major I believe. Have you known these
to be a problem in vineyards? Curiously, they just landed
on my Zinfandel and Shiraz grape plants, but not my Black
Spanish plants which are Pierce Disease resistant (my first
worry was the glassy-winged sharpshooter). Zinfandel and Shiraz
are vitis vinifera (European) plants. Thanks,
Richard Jernigan
Hi Richard,
The Greater Bee Fly poses no threat to your vines. The adult
Greater Bee Fly is a pollinator, and in that sense it is beneficial.
The larvae though are parasitic on Solitary Bees, and in that
sense, while not injurious, they might have an adverse effect
on pollination done by the bees.
Mating
March Flies in San Diego
(03/28/2008) Now there's MORE of them!
Hi again--
Wrote a few days ago when I was trying to identify this fly/wasp
like bug. They were flying about in the hundreds--well now
they are flying around nearer the thousands... ...and today
I saw a few pairs mating on the driveway. Noticed that
one gender has a large head, whilst the other has a rather
tiny one. I won't venture near guessing which is male or female.
They are not much more than 3/8" long.
J Cannon
North San Diego County, CA
 
Hi J,
These are March Flies in the family Bibionidae and they are
right on time. BugGuide
has numerous images of mating pairs. The big eyed male has
the bigger head. According to BugGuide,
the larvae feed on decaying organic matter. There are several
genera of March Flies, and we are not sure which your specimens
belong to. The infamous Florida Love Bugs, Plecia nearctica,
get so plentiful, and are often found copulating, so there
is much information available online including on Wikipedia.
Bot
Fly
(03/13/2008)
my cat brought this in to my room, do you know what it is?
Kevin Santana
Hi Kevin,
This is a Bot Fly in the genus Cuterebra. They are endoparasites
on various animals and are sometimes called Warble Flies.
Spanish
Fly is Frit Fly
(01/31/2008) insect Southern Spain
Hi,
I just learned your internet address from TV. And I'm sending
you a photo of an insect of which the photo was taken in Southern
Spain, to be correct in Marbella. I would very much like to
know which insect it is and the name in English but also in
Latin, if possible, so I can find out the German name. With
kind regards,
Annerose Reuter,
Cologne/Germany
Hi Annerose,
We are quite curious where and when our site was on television,
and in what context. This is some species of fly, probably
in the family Syrphidae, known as Hover Flies or Flower Flies.
Eric Eaton provided the following correction: "Hi, Daniel:
The Spanish fly is a Frit
Fly in the family Chloropidae. Can't offer more information
than that. Eric"
Dear Daniel,
thank you very much for the quick answer. I believe I will
never really know which kind of fly this is because there
seem to be hundreds. I saw TV this morning, in fact it was
ZDF, the first program, and it is called "ZDF Morgenmagazin".
I'm sending you a link to the ZDF-site: http://www.morgenmagazin.zdf
.de/ In the middle of the site you find: Die Momasurfer Nr.
28 and when you click on this, you come to this site: http://www.morgenmagazin.zdf.de/ZDFde/inhalt/4/0,1872
,7153380,00.html and there you will find the hint on your
site. With kind regards and thanking you again, yours,
Annerose
Stilt
Legged Fly
(01/30/2008) help
Please help I have been trying to figure out what these are
but so far have been unsuccessful. The green one looks like
some sort of shiledback katydid but not sure. I took that
one in the summer 2007 in Florida. The other one has been
prominent in my back yard (also in Florida) for almost a year,
but still not sure what it is. Thanks a lot for your help
Katelyn
Hi Katelyn,
The insect we are not posting appears to be an immature katydid.
Your other "ant thing" is actually a Stilt Legged Fly in the
family Taeniapterinae and we located a lovely image on BugGuide.
Beetle-Backed
Fly from Malaysia
(01/12/2008) Fly mimic
These are photos of a kind of fly mimic ! I think these are
extremely hard to spot and capture. In a blink of an eye,
the vanish, it looks like a shell behind it's back but it
can travel in incredible speed. Would you mind tell me what
species of fly is it . I'm located in Malaysia. The fly is
found in my garden's passion fruit plant. Do you know what
species of fly is it ?
 
The head looks like a fly, but the body looks like a beetle.
We believe it is some species of fly. We will contact Eric
Eaton to get assistance.
Hi, Daniel:
The fly is a "beetle-backed fly" in the family Celyphidae.
There are about 90 species in the family (surely more that
have yet to be discovered), collectively occuring in Asia
and tropical Africa. The "shell" is actually just an enlarged
scutellum, a body part that is normally quite small, the last
dorsal segment of the thorax. Bizarre, aren't they?!
Eric
Large Australian Mystery Fly: Robber Fly
(01/06/2008) Fly found in Australia
Hi Bugman,
a friend of mine saw this fly and thinking of my entomology
studies and insect collection he tried to catch it for me...
he wasn't sure what it was, and thinking that it may
sting him, he hit it with a cloth and killed it (sigh). As
you can see from the photo the thorax is very damaged but
the rest of the body remains intact. I am stumped with it's
identification however as I believe it's in the suborder
Brachycera, Family Pantophthalmide. I have attached
a photo and link of a Pantophthalmus sp. that I
believe to be similar to this specimen. As far as I have found
this family is located only in mid-to-south America (Peru,
Brazil, Mexico, Panama, Costa Rico...) and am unable to research
further as I can’t speak/read the language. Am I right in
identification or way of the mark??? I am located in the mid-coast
of the state New South Wales, Australia. It is generally a
temperate climate where this specimen was found -
not the neotropcial climate that the Pantophthalmide are said
to reside. Any help would be greatly appreciated,
Pantophthalmus photo: http://www.diptera.info/photogallery.php?album_id=103
Cheers,
Elysha
Hi Elysha,
We need to bring in some big guns for this one. We are starting
by correcting the spelling on the family in question and adding
the missing "a" to Pantophthalmidae.
We found a UC
Riverside "Bug Spotlight" page on the family Pantophthalmidae
that was written by Doug Yanega and we have contacted him
to try to get his expert opinion. We will also contact Eric
Eaton who frequently assists us in identifications. Meanwhile
we are posting you image and waiting for our readership (yes
that is you Grev) to comment.
Update: (01/06/2007) Large Australian Mystery
Fly
Hi Daniel,
Have a look at this site (especially the last photo) http://thebegavalley.org.au/1622.html
What do you reckon?
Grev
Hi Grev,
It looks like you have nailed the identification to a large
Robber Fly, Blepharotes coriarius. The website you located
included the following information: "This is the only specimen
I've seen. I've borrowed "Australian Insects" by Keith McKeown,
from the library. Fortunately it has a good (black and white)
water colour rendition of the fly and describes it thus: 'The
finest of all the Australian Asilidae. A very large black
fly with the upper surface of its broad abdomen bright orange
and tufted along the sides with patches of black and white
hairs. The face is densely bearded. The wings are a rich smoky
brown. It is rather a common insect in inland districts, especially
in the Riverina, where it rests on fence posts and tree trunks
in the hot sunshine. It flies away with a loud buzz when disturbed,
often bearing away its impaled prey.' "
Thanks so much for your help Daniel and Grev,
The photo with the "wings folded flat in line with the abdomen"
makes it look exactly like a robber fly... I wonder if my
specimen wasn't so mangled if I would have recognized this?
Well done guys! Cheers,
Elysha
Flower Fly
(12/26/2007) Is this a bee, a wasp, or a fly?
I thought this picture was of a "sweat" bee type
bee. Someone writing on my blog suggested it's a wasp. I tried
checking it out and realized I'm not sure at all -- looking
at the waist, I don't think it's a wasp and the eyes make
me wonder if it's some sort of bee-mimicking fly. There's
no ruler, but as you can see in comparison to the bee balm,
it's a tiny whatever. Thank you.
Rob Carr
Hi Rob,
This is a Flower Fly or Hover Fly in the family Syrphidae.
They are also called Syrphid Flies. Many species in the family
do mimic bees and wasps, so your confusion is understandable.
The adult flies do not sting or bite and are important as
pollinators. The larvae, according to BugGuide,
occupy a variety of habitats: "Larvae may feed on decaying
vegetation, aquatic detritus, or wet wood, others are predators,
especially of aphids. Some larvae are myrmecophiles , i.e.,
live in ant nests, and a few are associated with wasps. A
few attack living plants, especially bulbs of forbs. Larvae
that live in water with much decaying organic matter have
a long anal breathing tube, and are called 'rat-tailed maggots'."
The species with predatory larvae are quite important in gardens
for aphid control.
Tachinid
Fly Pupae
(12/26/2007) strange larvae
We just got home from a ten day vacation. We have been keeping
a cocoon that we found a few weeks ago so the kids can watch
it develop. When we got home there are these black small larvae
of some kind in the jar. Do you know what they are? How did
they get in there? We have very small holes in the jar and
it is in our house. Thanks if you can help us
We believe these are Tachinid
Fly Pupae. Tachinid Fly larvae are internal parasites
on many kinds of insects and arthropods, and they are often
species specific. Caterpillars are a favorite host. We are
presuming the female fly laid her eggs inside the caterpillar
before it formed a cocoon and the young flies fed on the internal
organs. |
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