Love is in the Air- The conspicuously large Clubbed Mydas Fly (Mydas clavatus) is a harmless mimic of the spider wasps (Pompilidae). They carry their masquerade to the extreme with bold behavior that includes pumping of their abdomen to simulate an ability to sting. Adults visit flowers to feed on pollen and nectar while the larvae are predatory, relying on a diet of scarab beetles (Scarabaeidae) which they find crawling within the dead and rotting wood where they reside. When mating, adults fly around in copula, reminding one of “love bugs” and other members of the fly family Bibionidae, the march flies. This mating pair was photographed along the Susquehanna at Conewago Falls.
As the month of June gets underway, we spotted this male March Fly (Bibio species) visiting the susquehannawildlife.net headquarters garden.And we found this Great Brown Drake (Hexagenia bilineata), a large species of burrowing mayfly, clinging to our building’s masonry wall after last night’s early June nuptial flight.So when can we expect to see Green June Bugs (Cotinis nitida) devouring our discarded watermelon rinds? Probably not until July.
