Abstract
FABRE has given a graphic account of the patient watch of this parasitic cuckoo-fly at the mouth of the burrow of a species of Bembex, and of its cunning in seizing the moment when the “wasp” is half within the burrow to deposit its tiny egg, pregnant with disaster to the Bembex offspring, upon the body of the insect victim intended for the larder-nursery wherein the mother Bembex's hopes are laid. He does not, however, appear to have witnessed in the tragedy a phase that recently came under my notice, and that is possibly restricted to, or perhaps only easily observed, in cases where the foster-host carries its prey along the surface of the ground, or at best flies only just clear of the ground.
Article PDF
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
LATTER, O. Note on the Habits of the Tachinid Fly, Sphexapata (Miltogramma) conica. Nature 105, 614 (1920). https://doi.org/10.1038/105614a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/105614a0