Wednesday, 27 April 2011

Cuckoo Bee & Fever Fly

Another lunchtime stroll today, and there were a couple of these cuckoo bees in the area near to the nests of the Tawny Mining Bee (Andrena fulva). These are kleptoparasites, laying their eggs in the nests of Andrena species, where their larvae steal the food supply of the host species own.

These Nomada species are notoriously difficult to identify from photographs alone, but I think this is probably Nomada flava, from the broad red stripes on the thorax, the red colouring on tergite 1, red antennae, etc.
If anyone has any better ideas, please let me know.

Next is a fly of the Bibionidae family. I don't know how many species are represented locally, but this is most likely Dilophus febrilis, commonly known as the fever fly. This male is pictured clinging to the tip of a nettle leaf.

1 comment:

Alice said...

Hi IJB
Nice site.
Are you sure that's not a Nomada ruficornis?
Alice.