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Whats happening to this bee?

gavpregavpre Posts: 33
in Problem solving
Spotted this bee this morning in the garden. It seemed a little confused and then crawled onto the underside of a leaf. Then something started to come out of its back end.

Posts

  • josusa47josusa47 Posts: 3,530
    edited May 2020
    It has been parasitised by another insect.  Some insects have a sharp ovipositor which enables them to lay eggs inside another living creature.  When the eggs hatch, the larvae feed on the unfortunate host's insides and then emerge, which is what you saw happening.  It is usually fatal for the host.  Well done for being on the spot with a camera, they are extraordinary photographs.
  • Alan Clark2 in LiverpoolAlan Clark2 in Liverpool Posts: 2,190
    First, it is not a bee, it is a hoverfly, but I cannot tell which species. 
    What you see is merely the male genitalia - see page 150 here for similar examples.

    https://www.zoologicalbulletin.de/BzB_Volumes/Volume_66_2/145_165_BzB66_2_Steenis_et_al.pdf
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    Alan Clark2 in Liverpool said:
    merely the male genitalia
    Try telling that to the lady hoverflies :# 
    Have you got any photos showing the back of the fly @gavpre ?

    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • gavpregavpre Posts: 33
    edited May 2020

    Not the best pictures as it was upside down and i didnt want to disturb it.
    I didnt think hoverflies were this big.
  • gavpregavpre Posts: 33
    Can anyone confirm if this is a bee or hoverfly
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Hoverfly

    https://nearbywild.org.uk/quick-guides-▾/bee-bee-fly-or-hoverfly/

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • gavpregavpre Posts: 33
    Thank you
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