#bugcatalog

Mating Filmy Dome Spiders #Neriene #radiata : sheet web builders, long courtship, beneficial, 5mm, widespread #bug # spider #bugcatalog Class - #Arachnida Order - #Araneae Family - #Linyphiidae Unlike orbweavers, sheet web spiders finely knit their web so insects get stuck. Next, the spider vibrates the threads so prey fall into an inescapable dome. N. radiata females will also use her web to attract a mate by spinning hormones into the silk. The males may pursue a multiple day courting at which time both spiders occupy the same web. Males are known to eat th3 web to ward off other suitors attracted to her pheromones. The Filmy Dome Spider is typically found in lower woodlands north of the equator. *Hunterdon County, NJ, 5-16-15*

Bee Fly #Bombylius sp. : parasitoids, long proboscises, 2-40mm, pollinator #beefly #bug #insect #bugcatalog Order- #Diptera Family- #Bombyliidae All species of Bombyluis are parasitic to solitary bees and wasps. The female will lay her eggs at entrance to the underground nest and when the eggs hatch, bee fly larvae attach and feed on the ready to pupate larvae of the Bea/wasp. When they reach the adult stage, their long mouthpart is used to get nectar from flowers. There are many different species of bee flies but no much is known about their life cycle. I could not be sure of the species of this guy although he is similar to the Heath bee fly native to the British Isles. This one was spotted in Chesterton, Indiana.