The Bee Flies (797 NA spp) generally have hairy bodies and patterned wings
and several with long beaks feed at flowers. They are a conspicuous element
of CCNHA old fields and are routinely collected in small numbers from primarily
xeric fields in mid-summer. Perhaps 20 species have been collected. The
larvae of this family are predators on grasshopper egg pods or the larvae
of ground-nesting bees and wasps. Adult females can be seen hovering over
and flicking eggs into promising depressions in the soil. The most commonly
collected species are in the genera: Villa
(lateralis,
alternata,
fulviana),
Hemipenthes
sinuosa,
Exoprosopa
fascipennis.,
Anthrax
spp(analis,
irroratus, DK wing), Paravilla,
Chrysanthrax
cypris, and
Poecilanthrax
spp(alcyon,
tegminipennis). Others often found
at flowers include:
Anastoechus
barbatus,
Systoechus
vulgaris,
Bombylius
spp (major). The humpbacked Lepidophora?
sp seems to prefer Pycnanthemumvirginianum and small yellow species
of
Phthiria are common
on goldenrod. Aphoebantus sp,
Geron
sp, and
Glabellula
sp have also been collected. Glabellula being taken at Amelanchier
blooms in May.
