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A New Emerging Pest
There is now another reason why we all must practice sanitation methods that we cover in our bee harvesting classes. There is a new pest of Mason Bees, the Houdini fly, Latin name: Cacoxenus indagator. Following is a description of the fly from the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) which has confirmed reports of the Houdini fly in Washington State.
"The Houdini fly is a kleptoparasite. It does not attack mason bees directly, but lays its eggs on the pollen meant for the mason bee young. The Houdini fly maggots then emerge and consume the food before the mason bee larvae, which causes them to starve.
Houdini fly is believed to be permanently established in Washington. However, mason bee producers and home hobbyists can reduce the impact on managed mason bees, which in turn will also help wild mason bee populations, through good management practices.
Mason bees are native pollinators that are active for a short time in early spring. They are one of the few reliable pollinators during cool spring weather, which is important for many fruit crops for farmers and gardeners."
Web site sources to check out for more information:
https://cms.agr.wa.gov/WSDAKentico/Documents/PP/PestProgram/PestAlert-HoudiniFlyFeb2020.pdf
https://crownbees.com/houdinifly?mc_cid=ca6d3ec88e&mc_eid=9577931bb4
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