10/31/2025
Eeeek!
Zombees! 🧟🐝
Well, not exactly....so today teacher Gabby threw together a spooky presentation on a parasitic fly that can harm honey bees here in North America for a spooky lesson and to have the garden and our attendees join in on a citizen science project!
Apocephalus borealis or the phorid fly/ zombie fly, are parasitic flies native to Neartic North America. Their preferred host is bumble bees(larger bodies means more food for more babies, and will also use wasps, but have recently found honey bees to be a good option as well for their reproduction.
Adult flies are 2mm in length, resembles a fruit fly
* Not a large concern for honey bees, but important to monitor
* Flies lay eggs between segments on the bees abdomen
* Eggs hatch and eat the flight muscles and hemolymph
* Flies are a potential vector for disease like deformed wing virus and Nosema ceranea
* Infected bees act like moths and are attracted to artificial lights during the day and at night.
* They will also be seen crawling on the ground and appear to be acting strangely, not returning to the hive or foraging.
Bees die and up to 15 larvae emerge!
We built a trap to see if there are any zombees still alive from this last season and will use this trap next year earlier to monitor for them! We'll report our findings to a citizen science project to help contribute to the range of this parasite!
Remember not seeing them present is important data too!
Want to be a Zombee Hunter!
https://www.zombeewatch.org/
https://scistarter.org/zombee-watch
We also talked about squash bees and their pollination preferences are specific to plants in the genus Cucurbita, and their native range in North America.
I also made a quick couple of coloring sheets to color while we learned!
Happy Spooky season! 👻🐝
