IR orter
July 24, 2019
WE HAVE IT COVERED IF IT'S PLAYED
Two Monroe County resi-
dents, Tristan Hunt and
Riley McCallum, spent
the week leading up to
Sunday's Baseball Hall of
Fame enshrinement cere-
mony living out their own
baseball dreams. Hunt
and McCallum played
in Cooperstown, N.Y
the home of the Baseball
Hall, for the Georgia
Barmen out of Valdosta.
The Batmen went 6-0
in pool play and made
if to the Elite Eight. The
Barmen finished the week
8-1 and ranked fifth out
of 104 teams. As a bonus
for playing in Cooper-
stown, Hunt, McCallum
and their teammates
were inducted into the
American Youth Baseball
Hall of Fame. Hunt is
pictured fourth from the
right on the back row
with his his arm around
McCallum, third from
right on the back row.
(Photo/Ansley Hunt)
MONROE OUTDOORS by Terry W. Johnson
er is
ecently I spotted
an
insect
the
sumed was a
bumblebee
perched on a
blade of grass.
Since bumble-
bees are among
the most
industrious in-
sects I know, I
thought it was
strange that
TERRY W. JOHNSON
bumblebee was not
collecting nectar
and pollen. When
I leaned over and
took a closer look
at the "bumble-
bee", it was obvi-
ous this was not a
bumblebee at all;
it was a southern
bee killer.
The southern
bee killer is one
of some 1,000
species of robber
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flies that inhabit North
America. Over the years,
I have seen a number of
them. Most are drab and
look very much like large,
hunch-backed, long-
legged houseflies.
All have large eyes that
seem to face sideways.
Their faces are cov-
ered with bristles. The
fearsome-looking insects
also share'one additional
trait--a sharp, knife-like
proboscis.
The robber fly I found
was quite different. Its
fuzzy body was marked
with bold yellow and black
bands giving the insect the
appearance of a bumble-
bee. The southern bee
killer is a true bumblebee
mimic. As such, some re-
searchers believe predators
that don't want to contend
with the sting of a bumble-
bee don't try to make a
meal out of a southern bee
killer. Who knows?
At any rate, like other
robber flies the southern
bee killer is a consum-
mate hunter. It perches on
a twig, blade of grass or
other structure and waits
for prey to fly by. While
other robber flies dine on
a wide variety of flying
insects, the southern bee
killer specializes in captur-
This may look like a bumblebee,
ern bee killer waiting for its
Terry Johnson)
ing paper wasps, carpenter
bees, honeybees and, of
course, bumblebees.
Once it spots one of
these unsuspecting in-
sects, it launches itself into
the air and tries to chase
it down. More often than
not, it latches on to its
prey in mid-air using its
long powerful legs. Once
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but it is actually a south-
next victim to fly by. (Photo/
it grabs a bee, it drives
its dagger-like beak deep
into the animal's thorax
or head and injects it
with a lethal concoction
of digestive enzymes and
neurotoxins. This deadly
brew quickly renders its
prey helpless. In a mat-
ter of minutes, the potion
literally liquefies the bee's
body tissues.
Once the predator se-
cures its meal, it returns to
a perch and slurps up the
remains of the insect. As
soon as it has completed
its meal, it discards the
insect's exoskeleton and
awaits its next victim.
Much to the chagrin of
beekeepers, a southern
The 2019 Mary Persons
High School football season
is just around the comer,
and regular season reserved
seats/season tickets for
home games will go on sale
starting Monday, July 29.
There are five regular
season home games, and
the cost will be $45 per
ticket. Please see Mrs.
Barbara Dennis in the Mary
Persons High School front
bee killer will sometimes
establish a hunting terri-
tory close by a beehive.
This allows the hunter to
dine on the steady stream
of workers that fly in and
out of the hive throughout
the day.
If you happen to spot
a southern bee killer
perched on a plant in
your garden, chances are,
if you revisit the location
another day, you will see
this deadly predator wait-
ing for its next meal. In
addition, if you search the
ground beneath his perch
you might even find the
remains of former meals.
Thank goodness, the
southern bee killer does
not attack humans. How-
ever, should you acciden-
tally grab one; it can inflict
a painful bite.
The next time you spot
what appears to be a
bumblebee hanging out
in your garden on a hot,
humid summer day, I
urge you to take a second
look, as it might not be a
bumblebee at all. It just
might be one of Georgia's
most accomplished aerial
predators--the southern
bee killer. What a remark-
able insect!
Terry Johnson is retired
Program Manager of the
Georgia Nongame-Endan-
gered Wildlife Program. He
has written the informative
column "Monroe Outdoors'
for the Reporter for many
years. His book, "A Journey
to Discovery," is available
at The Reporter. Email him
at tjwoodduck@bellsouth.
net.
office Monday - Friday,
between the hours of 8 a.m.
and 3 p.m. topurchase your
tickets.
Also, advance general
admission tickets for Mary
Persons High School home
football games will be sold
on the day of the game at
United Bank and Persons
Bank. The ticket price will
be $10. The price at the gate
will also be $10.
.-t-
Hunter Benson. 478-283-2861. fors, @fruit@icloud,com
