I’m doing a short write up of this fly just to get you thinking a bit. It was observed April 29, 2024 on San Juan Island, WA. While identification to Genus/Species may not be possible until I can actually catch a specimen to be keyed out, it is Family Tachinidae and Tribe Goniini. Hoping to come back with at least a Genus update at some point.
What I want to SHARE is the life history of this tribe of flies. The Goniini flies are parasites of various Lepidoptera, mostly Noctuids, Arctiids, and Lymantriids. Translating this for you a bit, it would be cutworms (if you’re a gardener) , tiger moths, and tussock moths.
How does this play out?
The female Goniini fly lays a “black microtype,” usually ovate and flattened egg, varying in size from very small to medium, on foliage utilized by the feeding host caterpillar. The caterpillar (usually Noctuids) munch the foliage, ingesting the fly egg. The caterpillar will continue feeding and then wander off to complete its life cycle as a pupa. At some point after ingestion by the caterpillar, the fly egg hatches and the fly larva develops inside the body of the pupating moth that is inside its chrysalis.
A myriad of ecological relationships exist in nature that are often unobserved. Many remain undescribed or unknown. Sometimes, they are disrupted by humans who intervene out of ignorance. If you’re one of those folks who squish what you believe are cutworm pupae in your garden bed, you might be smooshing the pest predator developing inside.
Hmmm, I was trying to think of a catchy title. “Louse in the House” made you look, right? Well, indeed one did escape and I can’t find it. Would you like to come over for dinner tonight? I thought I saw it flying around the dining room.
Here’s how it happened. Yesterday afternoon, a bird hit the window. It was a hard strike on a window where we haven’t had many bird collisions. I suppose I’ll have to make more Acopian Bird Blinds to put up. They’ve sure help mitigate the bird strikes. Link to DIY instructions here: https://www.birdsavers.com/make-your-own/
Back to the bird. I went out to see if the poor bird was still alive. It was, but died in my hands soon after I picked it up and carried it into the house to assess for injuries. I took the bird into the bathroom so I could shut out my ever-curious indoor cats, Herman and Nimbus. After realizing I was holding a lifeless body, I set the bird down in the bathtub. Right away, I noticed a fly crawling through the bird’s feathers. Hurriedly, I left the bathroom, grabbed my camera, and went back to examine my specimen more closely.
Hippoboscid Fly (Icosta americana)
As I bent over to look through the feathers, a fly zoomed up and nearly entered my nostril. I backed away, rubbing my nose. Wouldn’t be my first strange experience with a fly. There was that incident with the botfly that could have been a medical ophthalmological emergency. Don’t ask. You truly don’t want to know.
Leaning back over the tub, I started to look through the feathers again, but thought better. I went out of the bathroom again. This time to retrieve a large plastic bag and a collection vial for specimens. The bird went into the clear plastic bag. Now, I could look while containing the flies in the bag if there were others to be found.
I found two more.
These are Louse Flies in the family Hippoboscidae. The ID for this particular species is Icosta americana. Also, my husband identified the bird as a juvenile Brown Headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater). Strangely, this species is known to be chiefly associated with the bird families Accipitridae (birds of prey – hawks), Phasianidae (pheasants), and Strigidae (owls). So, why might it be on a cowbird? The bizarre exception. Maybe the cowbird parents laid their egg in the nest of one of the above? I suppose it will be a mystery.
Hippoboscid louse flies are pretty interesting. First off, don’t they look weird? Trust me when I tell you they are one of the most bizarre families of flies out there. They are obligate ectoparasites that feed on the blood of their host, nothing else. Unlike other fly groups, both male and female flies in this family feed exclusively on blood.
There are more than 200 species of Hippoboscid flies, and each species is particular about what sort of host it feeds on. Some feed on sheep, some on deer, others on bats, but the ones I found feed on birds. In fact, approximately 75% of species of Hippoboscid flies are bird parasites. Of these 75%, some are so picky, they only prefer a particular species of bird.
Another interesting thing about these flies is the fact they vector diseases like Avian Malaria, West Nile virus, and various Trypanosomes among the host species they parasitize. Unlike some other Hippoboscid species which have deciduous wings (wings that are quickly lost when reaching a host), the ones that parasitize birds can fly during their entire adult life. This means if their host dies, like my bird that hit the window, the flies are able to leave the bird’s body and fly off to parasitize another bird host.
While one fly may have attempted to target my nose, these flies are not known to parasitize humans, although incidental bites have been recorded. Some species of female Hippoboscid flies are actually known to only be able to develop their eggs from the blood of their particular host species.
While on a host, Hippoboscid flies move about with ease. They have bodies that are dorso-ventrally flattened, somewhat like an unfed tick body or a squished bug body. In fact, the Hippoboscid flies that parasitize deer are often mistaken for ticks. Because of the flattened body, sometimes these flies are referred to as flat flies. This shape makes it easy for them to glide between fur or feathers, and it also makes it hard for the host to groom them off.
The most remarkable thing about Hippoboscid flies is their reproductive biology. It is known by the term, Adenotrophic viviparity. Adenotrophic viviparity is where eggs hatch inside the female, and the larvae are fed internally until they are mature enough to pupate. In layman lingo, the female fly gives birth to a single live larva just as it is ready to pupate. She has invested all her resources into producing a single offspring.
This is unique as most fly species cast eggs onto a substrate and the eggs hatch into larvae, feed independently of the parent, pupate, and emerge as adults. With Hippoboscid flies, the female parent retains the single egg inside her uterus, the egg hatches into a larva, and she feeds it with special milk glands until the larva reaches the last stage of larval development or “prepuparium.” Finally, the adult fly “births” her offspring larva enclosed in a shell that quickly hardens into a true pupa. With Hippoboscid species that parasitize birds, the adult fly will leave her pupa in a bird’s nest or roosting site where it can easily find a host when emerges as an adult. For more on the life cycle of Hippoboscidae, you can view one of my YouTube videos here – https://youtu.be/zCD1B2GjCxU
*** In case you’re sitting here scratching your head and I wasn’t clear in the text, ALL of the collective names for Hippoboscid Flies include the following: Flat Fly, Louse Fly, Ked Fly, or just plain ole Ked. And yes, they ARE known to have a painful bite!
References and Further Reading
Coatney, G. R. (1931). On the Biology of the Pigeon Fly, Pseudolynchia maura Bigot (Diptera, Hippoboscidae). Parasitology, 23(04), 525.
Dick, C.W. 2006. Checklist of world Hippoboscidae (Diptera: Hippoboscoidea); Department of Zoology, Field Museum of Natural History: Chicago, IL, USA, pp. 1–7.
Levesque-Beaudin, V. Sinclair, B.J. 2021. Louse fly (Diptera, Hippoboscidae) associations with raptors in southern Canada, with new North American and European records. International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife, 16: 168-174. ISSN 2213-2244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijppaw.2021.09.007
Maa, T. C. 1969. a Revised Checklist & Concise Host Index of Hippoboscidae (Diptera). Pacific Insects Monog., Honolulu: Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii. 20: 261–299. http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/fiji/pdf/maa1969b.pdf
Santolíková,A.;Brzonˇová, J.;Cˇepicˇka,I.;Svobodová,M. 2022. Avian Louse Flies and Their Trypanosomes: New Vectors, New Lineages and Host–Parasite Associations. Microorganisms. 10, 584. https://doi.org/10.3390/ microorganisms10030584
Two weeks ago, I stopped by the San Juan County Conservation Land Bank’s office to take a look at the newly transformed “lawn-to-meadow” native plant garden, an effort coordinated by Land Steward, Eliza Habagger, as part of The Salish Seeds Project (https://sjclandbank.org/the-salish-seeds-project-bringing-back-island-wildflowers/). I was astonished at how quickly (seemingly overnight), the wildflowers planted in this small space had bloomed. Aside from being much more appealing than grass, this new wildflower meadow is hosting an assortment of pollinators.
I plan to observe the patch of meadow throughout the season and record species I see visiting the native flowers. I’m hoping to put together a collection of photos with species identifications to be shared for others to reference.
Here’s one I just couldn’t resist sharing with you today.
Hemipenthes sp. Bee Fly (Bombyliidae) at San Juan County Land Bank demonstration meadow – May 18, 2023
This is a fly I had not yet seen myself on San Juan, but I am a regular contributor to iNaturalist and last year, I knew another islander friend had found one. A first-glance at this bug might lead you to believe it’s a biting fly. It is not. This is actually a type of Bee Fly in the family Bombyliidae with no common name. Its Latin genus name is Hemipenthes, and this one keys out to Hemipenthes morioides.
Hemipenthes means ‘half-veiled in black’ and refers to the wing pattern seen in this group. I used a key by Ávalos-Hernández (2009) to work out my identification and consulted with another fly specialist who agreed. In the video clip of the fly, it appears to be ovipositing in the sand, indicating my specimen is female. More on this in a bit though.
I believe this is Hemipenthes morioides, a Bee Fly – May 18, 2023, San Juan County Land Bank Native Plant Garden
Literature describes Hemipenthes morioides flies as hyperparasites (a parasite of a parasite) of the larvae of parasitic flies (Diptera, Tachinidae), as well as parasitic wasp larvae (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae). Brooks (1952) cited this species as a predator of the tachinid fly Bessa harveyi, which is a parasite of the sawfly Pristiphora sp. (Hull, 1973). H. morioides has been collected mainly in the western states of the USA (Ávalos-Hernández (2009). They also are known to parasitize caterpillars of moths in the family Noctuidae (Bugguide.net 2020). Preferred habitats are forest edges and meadows.
Of course, this leads me to ask all sorts of questions about how exactly this process of hyperparasitism takes place, especially with regard to being parasites of Tachinid flies. That’s because most parasitic tachinid flies lay eggs directly onto their host’s body. How would the Hemipenthes fly eggs, laid in sandy substrate, get into a Tachinid fly egg laid onto another host?
Do Hemipenthes fly eggs laid into soil hatch, and then migrate through the soil to find an about-to-pupate or already pupating host? As to finding literature specific to Hemipenthes morioides with detailed descriptions about this process in the wild, I wasn’t successful. It seems to be such a complex relationship that chances of observing this happening in a natural setting are slim. For now, I’ll just have to be satisfied with knowing the taxonomy. The rest may remain a mystery…🤔
Except I like to solve mysteries, or try to at least! I reversed direction (taxonomically) in my literature search to see what studies are published around the Family (Bombyliidae). I found a few things that might be applicable and were, at a minimum, quite interesting. For starters, I read the paper titled, The Evolutionary Pattern of Host Use in the Bombyliidae (Diptera): a diverse family of parasitoid flies by David K. Yeates and David Greathead (1997). The “ovipositing” I witnessed is likely something entirely different. Instead, this female Hemipenthes fly was likely filling her “sand chamber” or “psammophore,” a ventral abdominal pocket into which the eggs are laid, and a feature unique to “higher” Bombyliidae (Yeates & Greathead, 1997; Calderwood, 2007).
Further, Calderwood (2007) comments in Bugguide.net, “It is said that eggs are coated with sand in the chamber to fascilitate release later. I (Calderwood) think that, given the relative size of sand grains and Bombyliid eggs, the reverse is true: the tiny eggs coat sand grains in the chamber, which are heavy and easier to toss with accuracy, kind of like sticking a piece of gum to a baseball. Ovipositing looks like little aerial dipping movements accompanied by flicks of the keester. Eggs are thrown through the air.” I tend to agree with Calderwood’s statement, and how fascinating is this!
Two weeks later, I’m still threading through a stack of literature about Bee flies Bombyliidae. I’ve discovered that almost all Bombyliidae bee flies (including this Hemipenthes fly) go through what is called hypermetamorphosis. Those eggs, which were flung through the air onto vegetation or the soil substrate will hatch into what is known as a first instar planidium. This is the form of the fly that must search to find a suitable host for development (Yeates & Greathead, 1997).
The planidium morphology is such that it is adapted for mobility/locomotion, host-finding, and attachment. It has an elongate body with two long setae and fleshy pseudopods at the end of its abdomen. There are also a pair of elongate setae on each thoracic segment (Du Merle, 1972). Examples of hypermetamorphosis and this mobile, first-instar form of larvae include quite a few other groups of insects. My familiarity with this has, up to this point, been limited to the Strepsiptera and to the larvae (known as triungulins) in a group of beetles (Coleoptera: Meloidae), so I’m still learning!
I’ll leave you with a nudge for you to pick up the Yeates and Greathead (1997) paper so you can learn along with me. Actually, you may email me and I will help you get a copy. It’s really pretty fascinating. Complex? Yes, but studying nature is one of the most intriguing topics you can delve into – so many intricate pieces all woven together. Yeates and Greathead use the word “serendipitous” to describe the chance observations of the process of development in Bombyliidae by scientists. I think it’s quite serendipitous that these tiny, first instar larvae ever find a host in the first place. More on Hemipenthes flies below.
Thanks for reading!
Taxonomy (bugguide.net, 2020)
Family: Bombyliidae (Bee Flies)
Subfamily: Anthracinae
Tribe: Villini
Genus: Hemipenthes
Species: Hemipenthes morioides
Identification (bugguide.net, 2020)
Head: Round; dark brown to black.
Male and female: identical, eyes of female only slightly wider, barely discernable.
Antenna: Black, very short.
Thorax: Dark brown to black with rust hairs across shoulders; sometimes thorax is bald. Thorax sides may have some yellowish hairs which do not form a definite line.
Wings: Dark brown, covering about 2/3rds of the wing, lower dark margin step-like. The dark extends to the inner margin or anal cell. Three sets of cross veins have a light mark on each side of the vein, called aureoles. One near base, one about mid-wing, and another small one below (or R4 + R5, M2 and CUP).
Legs: Dark brown with a row of spines on front shin (tibiae). Feet lighter.
Abdomen: Dark brown to black with small to large yellowish spots across each segment and a yellowish line across lower margin. Dark fringe mixed intermittently with some white on side edges of abdomen.
Habitat
Forest edges and meadows.
Season
All season in southern U.S. Late May to August in the north.
Distribution
Canada (British Columbia), USA (Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming), Ávalos-Hernández (2009).
I’m so glad Eliza invited me to come by and take a look to see the various bees and other flying bugs now appearing in the patch of meadow. Of course, I’m always happy for any new bug-viewing outing and this one did not disappoint. I’m looking forward to viewing more new species in the meadow!
References and Further Reading
Ávalos-Hernández, Omar. (2009). A Review Of The North American Species Of Hemipenthes Loew, 1869 (Diptera: Bombyliidae). Zootaxa. 2074. 1-49. 10.5281/zenodo.187152.
Brooks, A.R. (1952) Identification of bombyliid parasites and hyperparasites of Phalaenidae of the prairie province of Canada, with descriptions of six other bombyliid pupae (Diptera). Canadian Entomologist, 84, 357–373.
Yeates, D. K., & Greathead, D. 1997. The evolutionary pattern of host use in the Bombyliidae (Diptera): a diverse family of parasitoid flies. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 60(2), 149-185.
Spring has arrived and with it comes beautiful daffodils popping up across the landscape, but also pollen, windy days, and those dreaded allergies many of us suffer from. I’ll bet as you’re reading, you’re might visualize little pollen grains as daggers that blow up our noses and make us sneeze! Personally, when I visualize pollen grains, I picture them as the equivalent of microscopic land mines. Even though pollen grains can be quite unique when viewed under a microscope and cause quite SHARP “achoo’s” into that handkerchief, there’s another DAGGER you’ll have to go search for in those daffodils.
Rhamphomyia fly – Dagger Fly on Daffodil
When I first saw this bug and took some photos with my phone, I didn’t realize that EXTRA leg was not a leg at all, but a beak of sorts. More close up photos yielded some images of this particular specimen that reminded me of the sinister hood worn by doctors during the Plague that looks like a giant bird beak.
This BUG I found in the daffodils with the strange “beak” or proboscis, a scientific term for an appendage-like mouthpart of an organism, is a type a fly. The common or vernacular moniker being Dagger Fly.
Rhamphomyia fly – Dagger Fly on Daffodil
From here, I’ll take you through my process of determining the fly’s classification. First off, to understand it is a FLY, you must look at the number of wings. Flies are taxonomically categorized into the insect order Diptera. Di=two and ptera = wings. Two wings or one pair of wings = FLY. Now the Flies or Diptera are an enormously diverse and large group of organisms. Fly classification or taxonomy is one of the hardest groups I’ve ever worked through and in my rudimentary assessment, I managed to identify my specimen as far as the Family Empididae or the Dance flies. This fly wasn’t exactly “dancing” though. It was poking its beak around in the daffodil, and there were several of them in one flower – all doing exactly the same thing.
At this point, I turned to the fly group I belong to on a popular social media site. I posted my photos with date/location/and my suggested family (Empidiae), then asked if someone could help me with further classification. About two days later, I checked back. The suggestion in the comments was for Genus Rhamphomyia. It would be particularly challenging to identify this particular fly to species. Bugguide.net cites Arnett’s American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico, stating there are over 400 undescribed species in our area with 450 undescribed worldwide.
While Genus Rhamphomyia falls under the Empididae or dance flies, Rhamphomyia translates from Greek rampho ‘beak’ + plus myia ‘fly.’ Beak flies they are indeed!
Dagger Fly (Rhamphomyia sp.)
Delving past the taxonomical classification of the genus I discovered some interesting bits of information involving mating behaviors. Like other groups of flying insects, males and females will often form swarms of groups, sometimes referred to as leks. In the Rhamphomyia, these groups can be either all male or all female (a reversed-role lek) or mixed.
If the group is single sexed, it may be the opposite sex does not form a group, but rather enters the single sex group to select a mate. There may also be a group of females and a nearby group of males and individuals from each group will leave and mix with the opposite sex group to choose a mate. Different species of this genus may swarm at different times of the day. Some species may spend the entire day swarming, while others only a select time such as right before dusk or early morning. Swarm locations are selected around some sort of visual marker or landmark which may range from very specific ( a particular branch or limb overhanging a pond) or quite general (the southern slope of a hillside adjacent to a stream or a farm field).
The most intriguing behavior is the habit of male flies to collect and bring nuptial gifts to a female. Alcock (2016), describes this fascinating ritual where female flies gather in swarms low over open woodlands, high in treetops, or over grassy hayfields in early morning or late evening. The swarms lasted 1-2 hours each with female Rhamphomyia flies holding their highly ornamented legs wrapped around their abdomens. In these swarming female groups, males enter and gift their selected female a small insect for her to consume. Examples of tiny insects selected for nuptial gifts include drosophila flies, small syrphid flies, or tiny caddisflies (Alcock 2016). Kuiter, Findlater-Smith, and Lindhe (2017) recorded nuptial gifts to include “fungus-gnats (Myctophylidae), crane flies (Tipulidae), other Empididae flies, and occasionally small moths (Lepidoptera). ”
Reading a bit more led me to Funk and Tallamy (2000) who describe the plight of the female Dagger fly. She is unable to hunt for prey and wholly dependent on these nuptial gifts of protein necessary for development of her offspring. In the swarming leks, she seeks these nuptial gifts from male suitors in exchange for copulation.
While I didn’t witness the formation of swarming leks of these flies, I did find some handsome daggers hanging out in the daffodils. I kept reading and found they can use their beaks not only to pierce small insects, but also to pierce and extract nectar from flowers. As they feed, pollen collected on their bodies may be distributed to other flowers (Sezen 2015).
Rhamphomyia Dagger Fly on Daffodil
Probably the grand finale in my literature search yielded the paper written by Kuiter, Findlater-Smith, and Lindhe (2017) titled Pollination of the Bearded Greenhoods (Orchidaceae) by Dagger Flies (Diptera: Empididae). They describe a unique relationship between the orchid and another species of Dagger Fly. Located in Victoria,Australia, the authors document the case of mistaken identity – the male dagger fly is lured to the orchid by both chemical and physical attributes mimicking the female fly’s sex pheromones and her morphology.
While daffodils aren’t the orchid described by Kuiter et al, (2017), I considered their observations to offer one possible reason the flies I found could become so awkwardly stuck. Kuiter et al. (2017) suggest the flies observed bringing nuptial gifts to the Bearded Greenhood orchid (Pterostylis plumosa) are attracted by the orchids’ kairomones which mimic the Empididae female flies’ sex pheromones. In the case of this particular orchid, the hairy labellum inside the flower head acts as a visual cue, arousing the male who mistakes it for the hairy legs of a female Empididae fly (Kuiter et al, 2017). They believe the bearded orchids may have evolved the hairy labellum for holding the nuptial gift of the male fly just as females of the fly species have hairy legs for receiving the nuptial gift – a very species-specific relationship ensuring the orchid is pollinated.
I believe this relationship provides a possible explanation (at least for me) as to why I found deceased flies stuck within the filaments and stamen inside several daffodil flowers. I actually found four flowers with stuck flies, so it seemed more than merely coincidence. Is it remotely possible the species of male Dagger fly I found mistakes parts inside the daffodil flower for a female fly and cannot extricate himself from the situation? Mistaken identity? Or, did he merely shelter there in the cool of the night and expire in slumber? https://nossaorg.files.wordpress.com/2017/05/finalbeardedgreenhoodpollinatorlrs.pdf
Rhamphomyia Dagger Fly in DaffodilRhamphomyia Dagger Fly in Daffodil
I’ll end with a note of my own. Many of these relationships between plants and pollinators are highly complex, understudied, and/or, as in this group of flies, un-described. Many species of plants and animals, including and especially pollinators, are under immediate threat due to climate change, habitat loss, and land use changes. You can help by minimizing your impact and changing long-held habits. Avoid clearing around your property, try the “no-mow” approach. We mow only trails and leave the rest. Plant native plants, leave brush piles instead of making burn piles, build a smaller home, be a smart consumer. We are altering systems that enable our own survival. Get outdoors and learn about the diverse life that shares your space. Check out the iNaturalist app and see what you can record in your own backyard. These unseen living critters around us are unique, intriguing, and worth saving!
Thanks for reading!
View more photos in my Dagger fly gallery here:
Rhamphomyia Dagger Fly in DaffodilRhamphomyia Dagger Fly in DaffodilRhamphomyia Dagger Fly in DaffodilRhamphomyia Dagger Fly on DaffodilRhamphomyia Dagger Fly on DaffodilRhamphomyia Dagger Fly on DaffodilDeceasedRhamphomyia Dagger Fly in DaffodilDeceasedRhamphomyia Dagger Fly in DaffodilDeceased Dagger fly under microscopeDeceased Dagger fly under microscopeDeceased Dagger fly under microscope
Vocabulary
Leks – aggregation of (male) animals gathered to engage in competitive displays and courtship rituals, known as lekking.
Kairomone – allelochemicals where the chemical signals are favorable to the organism that receives the signal. A familiar example is the lactic acid component of human sweat that attracts the mosquito Aedes aegypti (Augustin, 2016).
Morphology -the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features.
Pheromone – semiochemicals that influence the physiology or behavior of members of the same species. They include sex attractants, alarm substances, aggregation pheromones and trail markings (Augustine, 2016).
Proboscis– tubular feeding and sucking organ of certain invertebrates such as insects.
References and Further Reading
Alcock, J. The Mating Behavior of an Undescribed Species of Rhamphomyia (Diptera: Empididae). J Insect Behav29, 153–161 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10905-016-9545-5
Funk, D. H., & Tallamy, D. W. (2000). Courtship role reversal and deceptive signals in the long-tailed dance fly, Rhamphomyia longicauda. Animal Behaviour, 59(2), 411–421. doi:10.1006/anbe.1999.1310 10.1006/anbe.1999.1310
Mischenko, M. and Frostic,M. 2009. Scanning Electron Microscope Still Image of Pollen Particles. Scientific Visualization Studio. NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10394
I’ve been home on San Juan Island, WA for 4 days now and clearly I picked up a bug traveling home. Not exactly the sort of bug I wanted, but it was inevitable given the crowded airplane and traveling stress. My husband came down with the BUG first. Then it hopped over to a new host – ME.
So, I’ve spent the afternoon on the couch labeling and sorting photos from one of our nature walks in Texas. This was the first of two hikes we took at the Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area Nature Preserve https://www.llela.org/about-llela/mission-and-vision. This area (approximately 2000 acres, I believe) has been conserved in conjunction with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the University of North Texas, the City of Lewisville, Lewisville ISD, the University of Texas in Arlington, and Texas A & M Agrilife Extension. It is a true jewel in the madness of the DFW metropolis where over 6.7 million people are displacing wildlife and native ecosystems are lost in the process. The BEST part of these hikes for me is the fact they do not allow dogs. NOT ANY! I am thrilled that the focus is on wildlife and habitat conservation and preservation instead of human recreation. I could actually be outdoors, enjoying nature AND viewing wildlife.
We’ve been to this preserve in prior trips to Texas. This year, we focused on hiking some trails we hadn’t been on before. Here is the gallery of some of the bugs I photographed, along with a few wonderful landscape scenes we viewed on the Redbud Trail – map here: https://www.llela.org/home/showdocument?id=9417
Please support environmental conservation wherever you are. This habitat may seem large at 2000 acres, but the former Blackland Prairie once covered 12 MILLION acres in the state of Texas. We need to set aside more if we are to weather the changes coming ahead.
Stay tuned for Bugging You From Texas, Part 3. I have more wonderful photos to share with you.
Trichopoda lanipesTrichopoda lanipesTrichopoda lanipesTrichopoda lanipesTrichopoda lanipesEastern Leaf-footed Bug
(Leptoglossus phyllopus)
Eastern Leaf-footed Bug
(Leptoglossus phyllopus)Eastern Leaf-footed Bug
(Leptoglossus phyllopus)Oblique Streaktail (Allograpta obliqua)Oblique Streaktail (Allograpta obliqua)Oblique Streaktail (Allograpta obliqua)Oblique Streaktail (Allograpta obliqua)Oblique Streaktail (Allograpta obliqua)Oblique Streaktail (Allograpta obliqua)Oblique Streaktail (Allograpta obliqua)Spotted Cucumber beetle
(Diabrotica undecimpunctata)Spotted Cucumber beetle
(Diabrotica undecimpunctata)Spotted Cucumber beetle
(Diabrotica undecimpunctata)Spotted Cucumber beetle
(Diabrotica undecimpunctata)Grass Spiders
Genus Agelenopsis
Grass Spiders
Genus Agelenopsis
Eastern hornet fly Spilomyia longicornisEastern hornet fly Spilomyia longicornisEastern Hornet Fly (Spilomyia longicornis)Eastern Hornet Fly (Spilomyia longicornis)Eastern Hornet Fly (Spilomyia longicornis)Trichopoda lanipes Feather-legged flyEastern Hornet Fly (Spilomyia longicornis)Eastern Hornet Fly (Spilomyia longicornis)Asian Lady Beetle (Harmonia axyridis)Asian Lady Beetle (Harmonia axyridis)Elm Fork of the Trinity RiverHyaline Grass Bug ( Liorhyssus hyalinus)American Bird Grasshopper (Schistocerca americana)Thyanta custator ssp. accerra
a member of Stink Bugs Family Pentatomidae
Elm Fork of the Trinity River
Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area Nature PreserveElm Fork of the Trinity RiverAmerican Bird Grasshopper (Schistocerca americana)I believe this is also Thyanta custator ssp. accerra
a member of Stink Bugs Family Pentatomidae
Thyanta custator ssp. accerra
a member of Stink Bugs Family Pentatomidae
Thyanta custator ssp. accerra
a member of Stink Bugs Family Pentatomidae
Thyanta custator ssp. accerra
a member of Stink Bugs Family Pentatomidae
Spotted Cucumber Beetle
Diabrotica undecimpunctata
Spotted Cucumber Beetle
Diabrotica undecimpunctataTrinity River-Elm Fork
Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area Nature PreserveAmerican Bird Grasshopper (Schistocerca americana)I believe this is Narrowleaf Gumweed (Grindelia lanceolata) – a native aster species.Eastern Leaf footed bug (Leptoglossus phyllopus)American Bird Grasshopper (Schistocerca americana)American Bird Grasshopper (Schistocerca americana)American Bird Grasshopper (Schistocerca americana)American Bird Grasshopper (Schistocerca americana)Eastern Leaf footed bug (Leptoglossus phyllopus)Eastern Leaf footed bug (Leptoglossus phyllopus)Insect House by Elm Fork Master NaturalistsEastern Leaf-footed Bug (Leptoglossus phyllopus)
I sat outside today in the sunshine, forced convalescence if you will, exhausted and achey after getting my Covid Omicron Variant booster vaccine yesterday at the San Juan County Fairgrounds. My outdoor time was unfortunately cut short because we have been inundated with construction development noise. I’m fairly certain I will be forever challenged to have an amiable relationship with our newest neighbors. In part, because they sited their VACATION home, right in front of our view. Mind you, they could have moved over 100 feet and we would not have to look across the top of our driveway at their newly constructed 2nd home. It has definitely impacted us. We’ve lost a lot of our privacy out here in the woods. It was never my desire to have close neighbors. I am a bit of a recluse….which is what the new neighbor said about his wife, yet, it begs me to ask again, WHY DID YOU BUILD YOUR HOUSE RIGHT ON TOP OF US?
Oh, and the jackhammering! That noise is enough to make a person homicidal. We had an entire summer of jackhammering from the former owners of that property. Really, truly, that property should never have been zoned for development. Not any development. It’s partly (half) wetland, and the other half is bedrock. Imagine the task of trying to excavate enough to bury your septic lines down the hill when you have solid bedrock! Also, our house is on that same shelf of bedrock, so the hammering shakes the walls and vibrates the floors of our home in the process of all this construction. The development on this lot has gone on for multiple years. I’m really tired of the disruption.
I digress. Sorry, I just had to vent. San Juan Island would be a much friendlier place for wildlife and bugs and such if we didn’t allow anyone to build a 2nd, or 3rd home here. We are outgrowing our space and it isn’t pretty.
Here’s my bug of the day. This beauty is a Western Calligrapher Fly (Toxomerus occidentalis). I was mesmerized watching it rest on the mint leaf. The patterning on the dorsal side of the abdomen reminds me of some sort of totem design.
The adults of this fly species are pollinators. They lay eggs on plants near aphids and when larvae emerge they are predatory on the aphids. It is believed that late instar larvae overwinter, pupation takes place in the soil cavities in the spring and adults emerge later in summer. The name for this group of flies comes from Greek toxon ‘bow’ + meron ‘thigh’ (refers to the bow-shaped hind femur). You can see the curve in the first photo below, circled in red. Something else interesting pertaining to the adult coloration I found on bugguide.net: “Colors vary with overall temperature during pupation: if it was hot, the yellow/orange increases and the background becomes lighter, but if it was cold, the dark/black increases and the yellow/orange becomes darker like the background.”
Enjoy the last few days of sunshine and embrace our native pollinators. We are heading into the dark part of the year. For those of us who live here year round, you know what to expect. Lots and lots of rain.
Every once in awhile you observe something in nature that makes a story to share. I hope you will enjoy this one.
I have a love hate relationship with my climbing green beans. First of all, I don’t really like eating greens beans that much. The leaves are pretty to look at, but they are lethal to my poor bugs!!!
This morning when I was watering my bean vines, I noticed a teeny little fly, seemingly stuck to one of the leaves. My eyesight is terrible up close, so I had to use both my reading glasses AND my clip on macro lens attached to my Iphone camera to take a closer look.
Not only was the little fly stuck, but it looked like the green bean had somehow glued her to the leaf by her proboscis. I swear that poor little fly LOOKED at me with a plea for help.
Of course I was going to help, but I wasn’t exactly sure how to go about it without causing further injury or accidentally amputating her mouthpart (the proboscis), which looks like a teeny little trunk and reminded me of the character, Mr. Snuffleupagus from Sesame Street.
Finding the tiniest piece of straw on the ground, I gently pried her free. She flew away, filled with relief and maybe a wee bit of gratitude for my efforts in helping her.
This fly was in my yard last week. San Juan Island, WA. 06.19.2021. It’s taken me about a week to get around to ID, but I believe this to be Eupeodes fumipennis (the Western Aphideater, a syrphid fly that happens to be a bee mimic.
In case you are wondering about that name. The Western Aphideater does actually eat aphids in the larval stage. To see what a syrphid fly larva looks like in action, check out my blog post with more video footage here –https://buggingyoufromsanjuanisland.com/…/honeysuckle…/ – also viewable in the photo below. While I have not been able to identify the species name of the syrphid fly larva in that post, you can definitely see where the Western Aphideater fly might get its name.
This amazing little creature is a Tiger Fly in the genus Coenosia, and I believe C. tigrina. Photographed on May 30, 2021 with prey that appears to be a spittlebug nymph.
This particular tiger fly is a European native, introduced to North America in the 1800’s. It is now found throughout the northeastern and western United States and adjacent Canada.
Tiger flies, also sometimes known as hunter or killer flies, are indeed fantastic predators of other pest insects, including Drosophila sp. flies. Even the larval stage of this fly is predatory on other organisms. Because of their success in hunting, they are often used as biological control of pests in greenhouses.
I made a video of one of my favorite insects you will see here in the San Juan Islands. This is a bumble bee mimic, but it’s not a bee at all. It’s a fly. Not only is it not your ordinary fly, it’s a fly with a very interesting life cycle that requires a host. This particular host relationship has evolved between the fly and our local black-tailed deer. It’s not feeding on the deer because these adult flies don’t even have mouthparts to eat. Their sole mission is to reproduce and they need an incubator for their “babies.” If you see a deer and notice it coughing, watch the video to find out why. **Edit *** Update to post… I misspoke in the video and state that the fly oviposits onto the deer which is incorrect. The eggs actually hatch inside the fly body and the fly larviposits onto the deer muzzle. Either way it’s got to be pretty terrifying to the deer! 🦌
Cephenemyia apicata 07.07.2020 video by Cynthia Brast-BormannCephenemyia apicata 07.07.2020 photo by Cynthia Brast-BormannCephenemyia apicata San Juan Island, WA 07.07.2020 Photo by Cynthia Brast-BormannCephenemyia apicata San Juan Island, WA 07.07.2020 Photo by Cynthia Brast-Bormann
Cephenemyia apicata
San Juan Island, WA
07.07.2020
Photo by Cynthia Brast-Bormann
Cephenemyia apicata
San Juan Island, WA
07.07.2020
Photo by Cynthia Brast-Bormann
Cephenemyia apicata
San Juan Island, WA
07.07.2020
Photo by Cynthia Brast-Bormann
Cephenemyia apicata
San Juan Island, WA
07.07.2020
Photo by Cynthia Brast-Bormann
Cephenemyia apicata
San Juan Island, WA
07.07.2020
Photo by Cynthia Brast-Bormann
Cephenemyia apicata
San Juan Island, WA
07.07.2020
Photo by Cynthia Brast-Bormann
Bugging You From San Juan Island 