Cedar Creek
Ecosystem Science Reserve
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Insects of Cedar Creek
Order DIPTERA
Family CONOPIDAE
(Thick-headed Flies)
The Thick-headed Flies (67 NA spp) are parasitic in the nests of wasps
and bees. A few are said to attack grasshoppers. Adults are said to alight
and deposit eggs on their flying hosts. They are most frequently found
at flowers--feeding on nectar with their long proboscis.The most frequently
encountered Conopids are
Physocephala
and
Physoconops
spp. They are brown and yellow marked with a slender waist mimicing
Polistes
wasps. Other species collected include
Dalmannia
sp.
Thecophora
spp, and
Zodion
spp.