Numbers
Arnett, pp. 879, lists 797 species in North America.
(1)
4,583 species worldwide, cited in
PDF article abstract by Evenhuis and Greathead
Nearctica lists 66 genera.
Identification
Hairy, often brightly colored flies. Legs usually slender, Wings often have dark markings, held outstretched at rest. Face not hollowed out. Eyes almost touching above, especially in males. Proboscis either short with broad tip, or long and used to take nectar. Hover and dart, rather like syrphid flies. Often seen about flowers. Females sometimes seen hovering over sandy areas, dipping abdomen to oviposit.
Food
Adults often take nectar (or pollen?).
Life Cycle
Eggs are typically laid in soil near host. Larvae feed on immature stages of beetles, bees, wasps, butterflies/moths, or on eggs of grasshoppers. Life cycle usually one year in temperate areas.
See Also
Syrphid Flies are not as hairy and never have a long proboscis
Print References
Swan and Papp, pp. 612-613
(2)
Borror and White, pp. 278-279, plate 13
(3)Internet References
World Catalog of Bee Flies in 3 PDF volumes:
1,
2,
3 includes taxonomy and list of species revised September 2003; info on
this page (N.L. Evenhuis and D.J. Greathead)
Insects of Cedar Creek brief family account with links to photos of several genera (John Haarstad, U. of Minnesota)
family characteristics and references (John Foltz, U. of Florida)
Tree of Life overview of family, characteristics, classification, references (David Yeates and Christine Lambkin, tolweb.org)
Eastern Bombyliidae Working list of the Bombyliid flies likely in the eastern United States (Herschel Raney)
Key to the Species of Eastern Canada (Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification)
