#365Insects 24: #Philanthus albopilosus Cresson, 1865
A highly-skilled hunter, this White-haired Bee Wolf will carry her prey, any of a variety of small bees or wasps, back to her underground burrow, where she will proceed to lay an egg upon the paralyzed victim. However, as the Bee Wolf larvae develops in its subterranean lair alone, it is at the mercy of any number of bacterial and fungal parasites in the soil. Lucky for for the Bee Wolf larva, its mother was prepared. In a special gland at the base of her antenna, the Bee Wolf cultivated a strain of symbiotic bacteria, which she then spread all over the ceiling of her brood’s chamber during construction. These bacteria produce a spectrum of antibiotic agents that help keep the Bee Wolf larva safe, and which will eventually be incorporated into the cocoon of the developing Bee Wolf and carried onward to protect the next generation.