Some more images from the recent trip to Rauceby Warren
I've already shown lots of pretty Butterflies from this trip, now its time for some more interesting creatures...
Robberfly Dioctria sp
First up is this Robberfly, which I believe is likely to be Dioctria atricapilla, but I am still awaiting confirmation of the ID. Robber flies are also crefered to as assassin flies. They are predators of other fly species (the name reflects their notoriously aggressive predatory habits)
Thick-headed Fly Physocephala rufipes
Next up is one of the Thick-headed flies (Conopidae family). These are parasites of the Aculeata group of insects which include Bees and the Social Wasps. Adult females aggressively intercept their hosts in flight to deposit eggs inside the unsuspecting Bee or Wasp, the resulting larva will literally eat the host insect from the inside out.
Thick-headed Fly Sicus ferrugineus
Another species of Conopidae fly was seen further down the path. The life cycly might sound a bit gruesome, but they are a very interesting group of insects. Very little is known about their life cycles, and much more research is needed to understand the relationship with their host species
White-tailed Bumble Bee - Bombus lucorum
After reading about all those interesting, but gruesome flies... I'll finish on picture of cute fuzzy Bumble Bee, this one was feeding on some of the Ragwort flowers that covered the Reserve we visited