Of the many collecting sites we discovered during our bee-killing fly project, one of the most exciting was Cumbre Alto Beni, 40 km north of Caranavi, Bolivia (coordinates: 15.83°S,67.56°W). It consists of a hilltop with a communications tower on top, rising from some steep terrain, surrounded by tropical montane forest. We were originally led there by a local guide in 2001, but stayed only one day. During that day we collected only nine Melaloncha specimens, but we could see that the site had great promise.

Our next two trips, in 2003 and 2004, were centered around collecting there, and in total, we collected about 500 specimens representing 28 species of these elusive and previously rare flies. Almost every day we collected something new.

 

Our technique for collecting is to spray the vegetation with a mixture of honey and water to attract bee hosts. Once there is a sufficient concentration of bees present, the flies are attracted. In 2004 we were smart: we dropped off a supply of honey, water, and a sprayer with the tower guard and paid him to spray a few times a day while we went off collecting elsewhere. When we came back a few days later, the place was swarming with bees, as well as our flies.