Facebook
X (Twitter)
Reddit
Pinterest
Tumblr
Delicious
LinkedIn
StumbleUpon
Posts Tagged: Milichiidae
May the Buzz Be With You
Did you feel the buzz in 2015? The honey bees, bumble bees, sunflower bees, sweat bees...what a year it was! It's time to walk down memory lane--or stray from the garden path--and post a few bee images from 2015. It wasn't all flowers and sunshine....
A female ultra green sweat bee, Agapostemon texanus, nectaring on cosmos. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenski, foraging on a tower of jewels. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A honey bee, Apis mellifera, foraging on a Bacopa. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Two sunflower bees battle it out: a male Svastra (larger bee delivers quick kick to a smaller male Melissodes. The flower is a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A praying mantis eating a bee, predator vs. prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Freeloader flies, family Milichiidae, and probably genus Desmometopa, dining on a honey bee, a spider's prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Pity the Poor Honey Bees
Pity the poor honey bees. They have to contend with pesticides, parasites, pests, diseases, malnutrition, stress and that mysterious malady called colony collapse disorder in which adult bees abandon the hive, leaving behind the...
Freeloader flies, from family Milichiidae, crowd the carcass of a honey bee trapped in a web. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Freeloaders Never Miss a Meal
If your dog is well, a little chunky, you're probably accustomed to someone saying "Fido never misses a meal, does he?" Well, those little freeloader flies never miss a meal, either. They not only never miss a meal, but they're never late for...
A banded garden spider (Argiope trifasciata) wraps a bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Freeloader flies, family Milichildae, gather around the abandoned prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of freeloader flies on a bee wrapped by a banded garden spider. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
There Is Such a Thing as a Free Lunch
There is such a thing as a free lunch. And a free breakfast. And a free dinner. And a free snack. That is, if you're a freeloader fly. If you've ever watched a spider snare a bee or other insect in its web, and wrap it like a fit-to-be-tied...
A freeloader fly dines on a bee freshly killed by a garden spider. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of a freeloader fly, family Milichiidae. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Buddy, Can You Share a Meal?
The next time you see a spider eating a bee snared in its web, look closely. The spider may not be alone. It may have a dinner companion. A freeloader fly. The common name, "freeloader fly," refers to the Milichiidae family. These flies are very...
Freeloader fly sharing a meal with a spider. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Freeloader fly perched on top of a spider's prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
