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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Flies (Diptera) » "Orthorrhapha" (Brachycera excluding Aschiza and Schizophora) » Asiloidea » Bee Flies (Bombyliidae) » Bombyliinae » Bombyliini » Bombylius

Genus Bombylius

BG705 C6982 Bee Fly - Bombylius major - male Species Bombylius major - Greater Bee Fly - Bombylius mexicanus Greater Bee fly, Bombylius major, sp7 1071, 1072 - Bombylius major Bee Fly - Bombylius major Taking Salt at Streamside - Bombylius albicapillus - female For NJ point on images map - Bombylius pygmaeus Orange County Bee Fly Archives - Bombylius fascialis or lancifer - Bombylius Bee Fly - Bombylius
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Diptera (Flies)
No Taxon ("Orthorrhapha" (Brachycera excluding Aschiza and Schizophora))
Superfamily Asiloidea
Family Bombyliidae (Bee Flies)
Subfamily Bombyliinae
Tribe Bombyliini
Genus Bombylius
Other Common Names
Large Bee Flies
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Bombylius Linnaeus, 1758
Numbers
Nearctica.com and Arnett, p. 879, (1) list 61 species.
Size
7-12 mm
Identification
Medium-sized bee flies, very hairy, long proboscis. Visits flowers and sips nectar.
Range
throughout North America, also in Old World
Habitat
Meadows, woodlands.
Season
Spring to early summer.
Food
Adult takes nectar.
Life Cycle
Larvae are parasitoids of solitary bees. Female follows bee from flower to nest, then lays egg in entrance tunnel. (Females are also seen hovering over open, sandy, ground, and they are presumably looking for nests.) Fly larvae feed on the larvae of the bees, pupate in the bee nest, and emerge in spring or early summer. Hosts include Andrena, Colletes, Halictus. What are apparently males have been seen to hover in display in North Carolina. These males were dispersed several meters apart in a deciduous forest habitat. (P. Coin, personal observation)
See Also
Heterostylum
Print References
Arnett, p. 879, (1)
Milne, p. 663, fig. 515, 516 (2)
Brimley, pp. 341-342 (3)
Swan and Papp, p. 613, figs. 1312--B. major, 1313--B. lancifer (4)
Arnett and Jacques #328 (5)
Internet References
Giff Beaton
Cirrus Imaging--shows feeding and ovipositing
Insects of Cedar Creek
Works Cited
1.American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico
By Ross H. Arnett
2.National Audubon Society Field Guide to Insects and Spiders
By Lorus and Margery Milne
3.Insects of North Carolina
By C.S. Brimley
4.The Common Insects of North America
By Lester A. Swan, Charles S. Papp
5.Simon & Schuster's Guide to Insects
By Dr. Ross H. Arnett, Dr. Richard L. Jacques
Contributed by Cotinis on 5 January, 2005 - 6:39am
Last updated 6 August, 2009 - 7:13am

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