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Sicus ferrugineus
Thick-headed Flies (Sicus ferrugineus) on a flower scabious in a wet meadow. Limousin, France. Contrary to what one might think, it's not a mate. During the fifteen minutes where I could observe, the lower one (female?) Was powered by turning on the flower and even managed to fly with the procession to go to another flower scabious. This is probably a prelude to mating.
Wet Meadow
Their larvae are endoparasites of bumble bees of the genus Bombus. They pupate and overwinter in ther victims.
Spotted on Jul 6, 2011
Submitted on Dec 8, 2011
15 Comments
very cool!
Wow! Incredible!!!!
Bonjour, c'est parfait pour la mission 'Hyménoptères : Abeilles, Guêpes, Bourdons, Frelons, Fourmis de France'
http://www.projectnoah.org/missions/1255.........
Bonne Journée et Happy Spotting
great spotting and an amazing creature !
That is truly fabulous. Great info too. Thanks so much.
lovely !!
LOL!
Balanced Beauty ,,,,
Nature humor.
Excellent capture. Thanks for sharing this.
nice shot!.. funny! : )
Great shot! Thanks Anne.
It's not very nice for bumblebees that have still a method of defense. The female Thick-headed Fly will post in height, over a flower and waits for a bumblebee foraging arises, then she rushes at him, abdomen forward. If the bumblebee sees or hears it, it drops to the ground, avoiding the attacking.
This species is European but I think other conopidae must be present in America and they must have similar behavior.
I can't help but laugh while looking at this picture! That's interesting that their larvae are parasitoids on bumblebees, I should see if there are similar thick-headed flies in North America that do the same thing.
I love it!
Amazing! - Great spot & beautiful photos!