Other Common Names
Dark-edged Bee Fly, Major Bee Fly
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Bombylius major Linnaeus, 1758
Size
body length 12-18 mm; wingspan to 25 mm.
Identification
A common and widespread bee fly, often seen taking nectar on early spring wildflowers or seen hovering in sunny patches in woodlands.
Pile can be brown, yellow, or white. Wings with dark leading edge, hyaline trailing edge with sharp dividing border. This is the only Nearctic Bombylius species with this wing pattern (Hall and Evenhuis).
The color of the pile evidently does not include white, according to Neal Evenhuis:
"Those that were previously placed in
B. major that were white like this have been transferred to
B. anthophilus." [comment by Neal Evenhuis on
this page]
Range
throughout United States and most of Canada
also occurs across Eurasia
Season
adults fly from March to May (most common in April)
Food
Adults take nectar from flowers of herbaceous plants.
Life Cycle
Larvae are
parasitoids of the larvae of solitary bees such as
Andrena species (Andrenidae).
Print References
Hall, J.C., and N.L. Evenhuis. Family Bombyliidae. pp. 1-96 In Griffiths, G.C.D., Ed., Flies of the Nearctic region. Vol V, pt 13, no 1. E Schweizerbart, Stuttgart.
Internet References
UK Safari live adult image by G. Bradley, plus size, seasonality, food, habitat, and other info
parasitoid of Andrena species abstract of article (Inge Bischoff, Germany, springerlink.com)
distribution; PDF doc plus synonyms, type specimen locations, references (Neal Evenhuis and D.J. Greathead, World Catalog of Bee Flies, part 1)
