Black Fly - Xenox tigrinus

Moved

… Joel Kits, 27 March, 2007 - 10:52pm

Looks a lot like

Xenox --- a bee fly. There've been lots of them flying for the last 2 weeks in southern Ohio.

… Steve Pelikan, 14 August, 2006 - 8:17pm

Thanks - I know my shot was n

Thanks - I know my shot was not that good but the other images do identify the Tiger Bee FLy - three in one (LOL).

Can it be true that not that much is known about something like this? It is stated:

Food
Unknown. An adult has been observed on damp mud, lapping up fluids (pers. observation, P. Coin).

My last question, does it bite, sting or pinch????

… JC Sullivan, 14 August, 2006 - 8:43pm

They were all over me

a couple days ago and never bit me. I don't think the have the anatomical structures to sting.

My understanding is that all the known larvae of Bee Flies are parasitoids of other insects --- Lepidopters, Hymenoptera, etc. or that they eat eggs of grrasshoppers.

We had Xenox hanging around wood that had Carpenter Bees (Xylocopa virginica I believe) in them and the Xenox was investigating holes excavated by the bees. So my guess is that their larvae live on the bee's larvae or pupae.

I'd be delighted to hear what anyone else knows about these flies.

… Steve Pelikan, 14 August, 2006 - 10:38pm

Hartmut, are you out there?

He has a lot of knowledge and knows good sources. Maybe he'll chime in. I've seen a lot of bee flies gathering sand to deposit, along with their eggs, into burrows. For pictures, go to the following link and scroll down to the two side-by-side photos of Villa Lateralis.

http://www.giffbeaton.com/Bee%20Flies.htm

Also, check the bee fly posts of Hartmut Wisch. Many of them have interesting and detailed info about these neat critters.

… Ron Hemberger, 15 August, 2006 - 12:45am

See, also,

the discussion at the general forum

… Steve Pelikan, 15 August, 2006 - 1:05pm