insect i.d. - Laphria thoracica

Moved

… Herschel Raney, 16 February, 2014 - 7:23pm

Predator

Nice to see a native insect preying in this invasive species, Japanese beetle. The wasp Scolia dubia also feeds on Japanese beetles. It catches the larvae and lays its eggs on it. There must be others.

… Beatriz Moisset, 16 February, 2014 - 7:21pm

Moved

Moved from ID Request.

… John F. Carr, 16 February, 2014 - 5:19pm

Good catch! It is a robber f

Good catch! It is a robber fly (Asilidae) that is trying to make you think it's a bumblebee. Probably Laphria species, but I'm not an expert in those guys, so I can't say for sure!

(and you're correct on the diet - bumblebees drink nectar and feed pollen to their young, but are flower specialists who don't prey on other insects. this fly probably benefits from predators associating the color pattern and furry appearance with a painful sting, even though it doesn't possess one!)

… Kelsey J.R.P. Byers, 16 February, 2014 - 3:48pm

robber fly

I wondered about robber fly! Thank you so much for the i.d. Survival techniques in the insect world are amazing, aren't they?

… mholland, 16 February, 2014 - 4:29pm

Absolutely! You might be int

Absolutely! You might be interested in mimicry complexes in bumblebees - for example, the carpenter bee Xylocopa virginica looks very similar to several eastern bumblebee species, such as Bombus impatiens and B. griseocollis. That way the cost of teaching predators that black/yellow means pain is spread out among more species - called Mullerian mimicry. (the other type of mimicry, Batesian mimicry, is when a species like this robber fly - or like many syrphid flies - pretends to be a bee in order to avoid being eaten)

… Kelsey J.R.P. Byers, 16 February, 2014 - 4:31pm

robber fly

Very cool, indeed! Thank you! I have a natural history blog, www.naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.wordpress.com and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't learn something fascinating. Thanks for providing today's nugget.

… mholland, 16 February, 2014 - 4:59pm