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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Flies (Diptera) » Orthorrhapha » Asiloidea » Bee Flies (Bombyliidae) » Anthracinae » Anthracini » Anthrax » Anthrax irroratus

Species Anthrax irroratus

Classification · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · See Also · Print References · Works Cited

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Diptera (Flies)

No Taxon (Orthorrhapha)

Superfamily Asiloidea

Family Bombyliidae (Bee Flies)

Subfamily Anthracinae

Tribe Anthracini

Genus Anthrax

Species irroratus (Anthrax irroratus)

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Synonyms: Say 1823

The name is often confused with Anthrax irrorata (not irroratus) by Macquart, 1840, which is now Anthrax oepidus from southern U.S. and has many synonyms.

Explanation of Names

Anthrax irroratus Say 1823

irroratus = 'speckled, sprinkled'

Size

4 to 9 mm long.

Identification

Head: Brown. Eyes large, sometimes with white along inner eye margins.

Antenna: Brown, very short, palpi-like placed low on face.

Thorax: Black, often bald with fringe of long brown hair surrounding thorax. Some whitish scales around segment 2 (scutellum).

Wings: Mostly dark brown, with tiny white squares along outer (costal) edge. Inner wing margin area has clear areas speckled with black; usually a larger area of clear about mid wing extending from inner to almost the outer margin.

Legs: Brown, long and thin. Some long hairs on shins.

Abdomen: Black, hairy, with fringe of longer black hairs mixed with a few white along each side of abdomen. Some white scales also throughout the abdomen.

Range

transcontinental, NS-AK to Honduras; Puerto Rico(1)

Habitat

Forests

Season

May to August.

Food

Adults do not eat. Larvae feed on many wasp and bee larvae.

Life Cycle

pupa illustrated in(2), fig. 458.3

"A parasite of a variety of hymenopterous insects nesting in logs, banks, and open, flat areas. Females often are observed ovipositing in openings of tunnels in stumps and logs and are sometimes attracted to the collector, flipping eggs at dark spots on clothing."

Remarks

Types:

Holotype as Anthrax irroratus by Say, 1823. Type Locality: Near Rocky Mountains. Type lost. Possibly a lectotype in the Academy of Natural Sciences, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

See Also

Anthrax irroratus has the most heavily dark marked wings in Ontario.

Print References

Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 1823-24, Vol. 3 by Say, pg. 46.

The Pan-Pacific Entomologist, 1966 & 1968, Vol. 42 & 44 by Parker & Bohart.

Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 1967, Vol. 69 #1 by Krombein, pg. 92.

Trap-nesting Wasps, 1967 by Krombein, pp. 161-165.

Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology, 1970 #43 by Marston, pp. 10-13.

Works Cited

1.	Evenhuis N.L., Greathead D.J. (2015) World catalog of bee flies (Diptera: Bombyliidae) web site

2.	Insects: Their Natural History And Diversity: With a Photographic Guide to Insects of Eastern North America Stephen A. Marshall. 2006. Firefly Books Ltd.

Contributed by Cotinis on 3 September, 2004 - 6:21am
Additional contributions by Aaron Schusteff, v belov, lee_penner
Last updated 30 June, 2020 - 9:32pm

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