Bugs and Spiders (15)

I have to agree with MBP it is a very nice example of Calliphoridae https://www.google.dk/search?q=Calliphoridae&es_sm=93&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=QDRUU9-KB4X8ygOBuYKIBg&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&biw=1920&bih=1017

Tim

Hej Happyjack. Those things are really very pretty and spend a great deal of their time pollinating just like bees. I was lucky this morning to see this guy that confuses me as another fly that looks like a bee (a beefly) with its has a nasty habit of paracitizing real bees in its larval stages.



The flash wasn't quite fast enough to freeze it so some blur here and there, but i was pleased anyway.

Tim



Edited by tpetpe - 20 April 2014 at 22:50

Re: Bees and Flies
There are a handful of key differences to differentiate between them excepting some mimics. Bees (and wasps) have a trio of small domes on their head called Ocelli, which enable them to orientate themselves to the sky. Bees have longer, usually widely spaced, antennae while flies have a pair of crooked stunted things just between their eyes. When at rest, bees' wings are folded down over their abdomen, while flies' wings more typically jut out at an angle. Furthermore, flies have a single pair, while bees have two pair of wings. Bees' eyes are usually taller and farther back, while flies' are more round and closer to the front. And of course, bees actually become cloaked in pollen while flies just get a very light scattering.

Jumping Spider


Jumping Spider by Matt H. Imaging, on Flickr

Sony A55 + Minolta 100mm f/2.8 Macro D, 0.8s, f/13, ISO400

Here is another shot from the same spider:


Jumping Spider by Matt H. Imaging, on Flickr

Then I caught this one and put it in front of the camera:


Crabspider by Matt H. Imaging, on Flickr

I think this is a crab spider, so some id on this one will be much appreciated! It behaved quite different from the jumping spider. The jumper looked at the camera and even raised its head to look straight into the lens. The crab felt threatened and raised its front legs. On the picture you can see a silk thread from the back toward the front legs.

@Matt: This is a crab spider of the genus Xysticus. They all look very similar, and from this angle it's impossible to say which species it is.