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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Flies (Diptera) » Orthorrhapha » Asiloidea » Bee Flies (Bombyliidae) » Bombyliinae » Bombyliini » Bombylius » Subgenus Bombylius (Bombylius Subgenus Bombylius) » Bombylius pulchellus

Species Bombylius pulchellus

Classification · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Remarks · See Also · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited

Bee Fly - possibly Bombylius pulchellus? - Bombylius pulchellus

Bombylius pulchellus? - Bombylius pulchellus

Bombylius pulchellus from Nebraska - Bombylius pulchellus

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Diptera (Flies)

No Taxon (Orthorrhapha)

Superfamily Asiloidea

Family Bombyliidae (Bee Flies)

Subfamily Bombyliinae

Tribe Bombyliini

Genus Bombylius

No Taxon (Subgenus Bombylius)

Species pulchellus (Bombylius pulchellus)

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Bombylius pulchellus Loew

Size

body length 6-7 mm, plus proboscis about 3 mm; overall length 9-10 mm

Identification

dark brown with white hairs along anterior and lateral margins of thorax, plus posterior corners of thorax behind wings; proboscis long and slender; wings clear except for groups of blackish spots coalesced to form bands or large blotches (a diagnostic feature)

Range

Alberta to Quebec, New Hampshire and Minnesota south to Kansas, Arkansas and Georgia. According to BugGuide observations, the species ranges significantly farther south than indicated in (1).

Habitat

fields, meadows, gardens

Season

adults fly in spring

Food

larvae are parasitoids of sweat bees (Halictidae), feeding on prepupae or, less commonly, young pupae in the host's nest

Remarks

Thanks to Joel Kits for identification of this image as B. pulchellus.

See Also

Bombylius pygmaeus has distinctly separated wing spots, not coalesced into bands (see photo at Virtual Exhihit on Canada's Biodiversity)

Bombylius major is larger with bicolored wings containing no spots

Print References

Packer, L. 1988. The effect of Bombylius pulchellus (Diptera; Bombyliidae) and other mortality factors upon the biology of Halictus ligatus (Hymenoptera; Halictidae) in southern Ontario. Canadian Journal of Zoology. 66:611-616.

Internet References

live adult images (Giff Beaton, Georgia)

close-up image of wing showing spots coalesced into blotches (Giff Beaton, Georgia)

article abstract on food of larva [sweat bees; Halictidae] (Laurence Packer, Canadian Journal of Zoology)

example foodplant of adult [Marsh Violet] (John Hilty, Illinois)

presence in Minnesota; list (Insects of Cedar Creek, Minnesota)

Works Cited

1.	World Catalog of Bee Flies (Diptera : Bombyliidae) Neal L. Evenhuis. 1999. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden. 804 pp.

Contributed by Robin McLeod on 10 May, 2006 - 9:24am
Additional contributions by Matthias Buck, Bbarnd
Last updated 25 February, 2022 - 11:22pm

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