The "Bully Bee" Gets a Makeover

I like my Facebook friends. They share important bits of news with me, like a recent story about the European wool-carder bee, Anthidium manicatum. I saw this species for the first time last summer while I was in western Massachusetts. Males of this species, like the one pictured below, are indeed impressive creatures, but apparently now worthy of their killer reputation.

The complete story can be found here. Apparently the story was inspired by another story that went “viral” on the internet due to sensationalized and erroneous accounts of the wool-carder bee. My compliments go to the Reporter reporter for doing a most excellent job in researching the facts, interviewing the proper experts and communicating the right information in an understandable language. I was surprised myself to learn that the accidental introduction of A. manicatum dates back to 1963, in New York state.

We do have native species of Anthidium here in the North America, but they are not seen that often, especially in urban areas. The female A. manicatum shown below was, like the male, seen in a butterfly garden on the campus of the University of Massachusetts in Amherst last summer. She is scraping off the hairy fibers from this leaf to line one of the cells in her nest.

Please feel free to write me with links interesting news stories related to insects, spiders, and other arthropods. You can reach me at BugEric24ATyahooDOTcom. We need to reward good reporting and expose the kind of bad reporting that spreads misinformation. Thanks.

Wasp Wednesday: Audition Video

I had the privilege of auditioning for a pool of new talent with the BBC Natural History Unit back in December of 2008. They wanted a demo DVD, so I had to enlist some help. I decided I would use grass-carrier wasps of the genus Isodontia, family Sphecidae, as my subject. The result is shown below.

A huge amount of thanks goes to Kirk Sellinger of Kalypsis Productions. Kirk helped me out on a moment's notice, charged reasonable rates, and shared a few tricks of the production trade. When he isn't working with minor clients like me, Kirk joins National Geographic tours documenting both the natural history and the guests, making DVDs available to the guests at the end of the expedition.

Nothing became of this particular audition for the BBC, but they were most gracious. I would very much like to make a living interpreting insect and spider natural history through all types of media, regardless of whether I am in front of the camera or not. Watching myself in this video I might actually prefer to be behind the scenes. I welcome inquiries from those who produce nature documentaries, or referrals to production companies and others in that business.

I have appeared on television before, locally (at the "Bug Fest" at the Arkansas Museum of Discovery in Little Rock, July, 2000) nationally (a guest on Donahue in February, 1989 for a discussion on children of divorce), and syndicated (Make Peace With Nature in the 1990s). I have also performed stand-up comedy for a live audience at the end of a comedy workshop.

Since I will be out of my current part-time job come May of this year, I figure I better get started on my next move. Creative enterprises really are "my thing," and I look forward to collaborating with like minds. Oh, and I’ll be back next week with a bit more on Isodontia. Thanks.

Scuttle Flies

Have you ever noticed how there are these little tiny flies that run, stop, and run in a seemingly random fashion around your kitchen or bathroom? Sorry, I sound like Andy Rooney. Well, they are not schizophrenic “fruit flies,” but a different kind of fly altogether. Scuttle flies belong to the family Phoridae, and are also known as humpbacked flies or coffin flies.

The most common species of phorid by far, at least in the urban environment, is Megaselia scalaris. Males are roughly two millimeters long, females about three, so if they didn’t move you might not even notice them. They are also very easily confused with vinegar flies (aka pomace flies) in the family Drosophilidae, which we call “fruit flies.” I’ll point out the differences shortly.

I habitually find Megaselia scalaris around the garbage disposal in the kitchen sink. This should not be surprising. The larval flies feed in a variety of decaying organic matter. These little maggots might drown in the drain trap, but they can swallow air to make themselves buoyant and avoid that fate.

Dr. Brian V. Brown, an entomology curator at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, is one of the leading authorities on the family Phoridae. While 90% of the specimens he is asked to identify turn out to be Megaselia scalaris, there is an enormous number of undescribed species, even within the genus Megaselia, which accounts for about half the species in the family.

It is important to note that even the cleanest homes and businesses are bound to have scuttle flies at some point, and they rarely reach population levels that make them any more than a nuisance. They present no health threat to the average person, but they have been recorded as infesting wounds in hospital patients. This phenomenon is known as “myiasis,” and is exceedingly rare. Check out This abstract if you want the gory details of an example from overseas.

The vinegar flies in the Drosophilidae family are probably a little more common than phorids in the average house, but with a little practice you can easily tell the two apart. Above is an image of a Drosophila. Note the large head in proportion to the body, with bright red eyes. Scuttle flies, like the magnified specimen shown below, have smaller heads with dark eyes. The “thighs” on the hind legs are heavier than those of vinegar flies, too.

Still, behavior is the biggest clue. Scuttle flies run in a darting fashion, only flying if dodging you on foot doesn’t work. Vinegar flies perch, and while they may walk slowly, never seem to run. Their instinct is to fly to avoid a potential threat.

Sources: You will find this link from Bugguide.net to be helpful in learning more about these common yet fascinating flies. The chapter on Phoridae in the Manual of Nearctic Diptera is in volume 2, now available as a free PDF download. The Manual is the reference to North American flies, even though it is already somewhat out of date.

Wasp Wednesday: Euodynerus hidalgo

Caterpillars have it hard in life. Everything is out to get them, especially wasps. Ichneumon and braconid wasps lay eggs on them. Chalcid wasps lay eggs in them, and predatory wasps in the families Vespidae and Sphecidae sting them. Among the vespid wasps are mason wasps, of which Euodynerus hidalgo is typical.

This species ranges across the United States from the Atlantic to Pacific coasts, and is divided into three subspecies. Nancy Collins was kind enough to help me find the above example of E. hidalgo hidalgo in Mission, Texas on June 6, 2010 at the visitor center for Bentsen Rio Grande Valley State Park.

The female wasp was plastering mud in the mortar crevice between bricks on the exterior wall of the building. They normally nest in pre-existing cavities including the abandoned nests of other wasps, or old solitary bee burrows. So, old nests of Black and Yellow Mud Daubers (Sceliphron caementarium), and even the nests of paper wasps (Polistes) are fair game for homesteading.

More life history information is known for the subspecies E. hidalgo boreoorientalis, which occurs along the Eastern Seaboard. I found a couple specimens in Cape May Point State Park, New Jersey on October 18, 2010. Note that this subspecies has almost no red markings, being mostly black with sparse yellow markings. Thanks to the dedicated work of Karl Krombein, we know this subspecies nests mostly in old bee or beetle borings in twigs and stalks.

According to Krombein’s observations, nests may consist of one to eleven cells, arranged linearly along the length of the tunnel. Each cell is furnished with several small caterpillars, paralyzed by the sting of the female wasp. An egg is laid in the cell, then a partition of sand or soil is fabricated and a new cell is created atop the previous cell. The egg and larval stages were completed in about 7-9 days at the Kill Devil Hills site in North Carolina where Krombein did most of his research. Adult male wasps emerged from the pupae in about 14 days, whereas females emerged after 19 days. Krombein suspects that at least two generations are produced each year.

Many members of the genus Euodynerus have a blocky or “chunky” appearance, especially the thorax with its angular edges. E. hidalgo is identified by the strong carina (ridge) on the front edge of the pronotum (collar-like part of the thorax abutting the head), and the thin, slightly upturned hind margins of the second and third dorsal abdominal segments. Male specimens are easily recognized by the hooked tips on the antennae.

Like most mason and potter wasps in the subfamily Eumeninae, this species is frequently seen on wildflowers feeding on nectar. Look for these and other wasps nesting in or on old barns and other dilapidated wood buildings. Some wasps will build mud or paper nests, while others will use the holes where rusted nails have fallen out.

Sources: Karl V. Krombein’s masterpiece, Trap-Nesting Wasps and Bees: Life Histories, Nests and Associates, published in 1967 by the Smithsonian Press, is a 570 page bible for anyone interested in solitary wasps and bees. Online, you may find this ”Identification Atlas of the Vespidae of the northeastern Nearctic Region” to be helpful. It is well-illustrated, a product of the Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification.