A Useful Bit of Information!

  There are a lot of folks that have a tendency to kill just about any bug that crawls, flies or otherwise makes its way about the place.  We have come to the point where all creepy-crawly critters are considered bad and must be eradicated.  This makes me sad.  There are a few insects that I deem a pest and must be eliminated....think roaches, mosquitoes, termites and gnats...but on a whole I do not mind the critters if they do not make a nuisance of themselves.  Ants can build all the mounds they want back by the palmettos.  Grasshoppers are welcome to hop around the woods.  And, well, most critters fall in my category of "live and let live". I am not about to start squishing, spraying or slapping something just because it is alive.  That is stupid, as far as I can tell.  Some of those insects are pretty helpful, in their own way.

  Between the rain showers today, I made a quick trip to the pier.  Being stuck inside was making me a bit stir crazy so out I went.  The rain did catch me before I got back to the Little Bayou House but it was well worth being a bit wet.  While on the pier, I found another denizen of the Bayou enjoying the great outdoors.  A Tiger Bee Fly was drying off after the aforementioned shower.  It sat on the pier boards soaking up the few rays of sunshine provided by a momentary appearance by old Mr. Sun. The Tiger Bee Fly was gorgeous!

  Now to pass on a bit of useful information.  The Tiger Bee Fly is one NOT to kill.  As menacing as they seem to be, they are rather docile.  The word "bee" in the name leads one to believe that this is a stinging insect. Not so.  They do not sting.  Because they are actually a fly, one might think that they are bloodsuckers and bite.  Not so.  In fact, despite their scary name, the fly actually sips nectar with a long proboscis.  If you visit a garden with highly scented flowers, you might see the Tiger Bee Fly flitting about from flower to flower.  

Tiger Bee Fly....menacing looking but helpful and nice!

Carpenter Bee...pretty but will sting if threatened and a destructive tunnel borer!

  While that is a bit of happy news, the next should be downright elating.  These flies are indeed predators to some insects that do cause problems.  The female Tiger Bee Fly will search around until she finds a Carpenter Bee tunnel and then she does her deed!  The Carpenter Bee females are the ones that drill the perfectly round tunnels in wood such as on decks, porches, sheds, etc.  The tunnels weaken structures to the point that most of the drilled boards have to be replaced.  This can be costly. How do I know?  We have had to replace plenty!  The female Carpenter Bee drills these tunnels to house her eggs and larvae.  She stockpiles spiders and other insects inside each cell to assure her little ones have plenty to eat.  The Tiger Bee Fly sneaks in and lays her eggs among the Carpenter Bee eggs.  Once all of these eggs hatch (both Carpenter Bee and Tiger Bee Fly), the Carpenter Bee larvae start munching the paralyzed insects that Dear Old Mom caught for them. The Tiger Bee larvae start munching the Carpenter Bee larvae.  The fly larvae feast upon the bee larvae and eliminate a problem for humans!  Thusly, YOU SHOULD NOT KILL THESE FLIES!

  Hopefully, explaining that some critters can be helpful will cause folks to stop, think, identify and not kill.  Not only are a lot of beneficial insects killed because of folks just not understanding but the chemicals used in eradicating the bugs is quite harmful to all of us.  STOP! THINK! IDENTIFY! And then decide if the critter does not deserve to live.  Live and let live...a good mantra.