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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 pygmaeus

Species Bombylius pygmaeus

Bee Fly - Bombylius pygmaeus Bee Fly - Bombylius pygmaeus Bombylius pygmaeus - female Bee Fly - Bombylius pygmaeus Bombylius pygmaeus - female Bombylius major? - Bombylius pygmaeus Bombyliidae ? - Bombylius pygmaeus - male strange fly - Bombylius pygmaeus
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 pygmaeus (Bombylius pygmaeus)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Bombylius pygmaeus Fabricius, 1781
syn. Bombylius canadensis Curran, 1933.
Explanation of Names
Species name pygmaeus from Greek pygm, dwarf (1).
Size
6-10 mm (Bee Flies of Ontario)
Identification
Thorax dark brown, outlined in yellowish-white; spots on wings distinctly separate (not coalesced into bands or blotches, as in the similar B. pulchellus).
Range
Widespread: Alaska, Canada, Northeastern United States, south to Georgia, also in China (Bee Flies of Ontario)
Season
Spring. April (eastern North Carolina), May (mountains of North Carolina). May-June (Ontario)
Food
Adults likely take nectar.
Life Cycle
Parasitoids of solitary bees.
See Also
Bombylius pulchellus--wing spots coalesced into bands or blotches, in pygmaeus, wing spots distinctly separate
Bombylius major--larger (12-18 mm) with bicolored wings containing no spots
Print References
Borror, entry for pygm (1)
Brimley, p. 342, notes season in regions of North Carolina (2).
Internet References
Bee Flies of Ontario--Key to Bombylius
Diptera Types in the Canadian National Collection of Insects--cover illustration
North Carolina State Univ. Entomology--17 pinned, including specimens from that state
Works Cited
1.Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms
Donald J. Borror. 1960. Mayfield Publishing Company.
2.Insects of North Carolina
C.S. Brimley. 1938. North Carolina Department of Agriculture.
Contributed by Cotinis on 24 April, 2005 - 11:38pm
Additional contributions by Robin McLeod, Ben Coulter
Last updated 21 May, 2017 - 9:31pm

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