While she was in one of her camps, I went on a little nature walk. The camp is out in the country, surrounded by trees, and it was actually a very beautiful day.
Outside, I found 2 neat webs. They are webs of an argiope spider, commonly called a "banana spider" around here. One of the webs had a small spider, probably a male, sitting on it "eating", but it was out of my reach and the photos are blurry. This site gives some info about these spiders.
Inside, we ran into this "scary" insect. We were a little scared of the HUGE stinger. It turns out this is a type of Robber Fly and the "stinger" is an oviposter. Robber Flies eat other flying insects. I enjoyed reading about them at Wikipedia. And, check out this cool photo of a Robber Fly's head!!!
So, "no", they can't sting - but they can bit, though they are not aggresive. You can identify a Robber Fly by its "stout, spiny legs, a dense moustache of bristles on the face (mystax), and 3 simple eyes in a characteristic depression between their two large compound eyes. Others are fat-bodied bumblebee mimics. Adult robber flies attack other flies, beetles, butterflies and moths, various bees, dragon and damselflies, Ichneumon wasps, grasshoppers, and some spiders."
Those photos are so cool! I know I've said this before, but it is so neat to be able to see nature in different parts of the country. I also really enjoyed your link to the Robber Fly's head. Cool!
ReplyDeleteBlessings, Melissa
www.homeschoolblogger.com/melissal89
So glad to hear that Alexandra is feeling better. That spider web is so neat looking. As far as that Robbers Fly, if you would not have told me, I would have believed that it was a stinger too. Scary looking.
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