do deer flies eat bees?

rober · August 24, 2011, 07:04:39 PM

does this look like a deer fly? it's not dark enough for a horsefly? it was carrying & eating one of the girls. you can just make out the remains of the bee body & a wing.

stella · August 24, 2011, 07:39:41 PM

Thats not what a deer fly looks like in MN.

SerenaSYH · August 24, 2011, 08:27:22 PM

I'm sad to see this :(

Alas, Cruel Natural World!!!

O.K. what you have is called the Bearded Robber fly.

http://www.uky.edu/Ag/CritterFiles/casefile/insects/flies/robber/robber2.jpg

Hope this helps!

rober · August 24, 2011, 08:44:27 PM

never heard of them before this. i'll research this critter some more.

BlueBee · August 24, 2011, 09:09:49 PM

Interesting. I don't think I've ever seen one of them up here. I'll have to be on the look out. Always something after them bees.

rober · August 26, 2011, 12:29:56 AM

tonight we had a hummingbird moth in the garden. this is only the 3rd time i've ever seen one. here's an image i found on-line.

stella · August 26, 2011, 12:43:42 AM

That is a sphinx moth. They are very cool to see indeed!

SerenaSYH · August 26, 2011, 03:47:29 AM

GORGEOUS photo, Rober! :rainbowflower: Love the colors and clarity of the moth in flight. Wowza! Thanks for sharing

Scadsobees · August 26, 2011, 10:16:15 AM

Cool photos!

BTW, robber flies come in all shapes and sizes, with lots of mimicry. There are robber flies that look exactly like bumblebees and bees. It is very strange to see a bumblebee eating a honeybee, but it ain't a bumblebee!

BeeMaster2 · August 26, 2011, 12:59:14 PM

Quote from: Scadsobees on August 26, 2011, 10:16:15 AM
Cool photos!

BTW, robber flies come in all shapes and sizes, with lots of mimicry. There are robber flies that look exactly like bumblebees and bees. It is very strange to see a bumblebee eating a honeybee, but it ain't a bumblebee!

Love to see a picture of one of them.
Jim

rober · August 26, 2011, 02:34:26 PM

top photo is bumble bee mimic robber fly. 2nd photo is bee mimic

greenbtree · August 27, 2011, 02:49:07 AM

We just got back from a camping trip. We had a huge community shade tent (open sides) that this robber fly spent the whole week hanging around in hunting the regular flies. It was very cool watching him sneak up and pounce on them. I loved the pictures of the bumble and honey bee mimics. Thanks!

JC

BeeMaster2 · August 29, 2011, 12:54:38 PM

Thanks for the pics of the rober bees, rober. :-D