The insect world shows us many instances of insects employing disguises for various reasons. Insects employ disguises for the obvious reason that it is not desirable to be noticed by a predator. And other times insects will employ a disguise in order to make the task of hunting for prey a bit easier, the robber fly is one of these insects.
The robber fly is one of the strongest flies in existence. This fly is coated with black and yellow hairs that make it appear as though it is prey to bees, and not the other way around. Once a bee approaches a robber fly, the robber fly will use its super strong legs to tackle a bee to death, crushing the bee on impact. If you were to approach the hunting grounds of a robber fly you would certainly find discarded bee exoskeletons littered about, indicating the robber flies choice of prey, and that is a pretty macabre end to a bee’s life.
Unfortunately the worldwide bee population is plummeting. However, according to beekeepers, robber flies only cause minimal problems for bees. And with the exception of a few isolated deaths as a result of the robber flies bloodlust, bee colonies are never compromised as a result of robber fly activity.
Have you ever spotted what looked like a large bee attacking a smaller bee?
