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Unlike butterflies, bee flies hold their proboscis straight, and cannot retract it. Many Bombyliidae superficially resemble bees and accordingly the prevalent common name for a member of the family is bee fly. [2] Possibly the resemblance is Batesian mimicry, affording the adults some protection from predators.
Bombylius major (commonly named the large bee-fly, the dark-edged bee-fly or the greater bee fly) is a parasitic bee mimic fly. B. major is the most common type of fly within the Bombylius genus. The fly derives its name from its close resemblance to bumblebees and is often mistaken for them.
Bombylius is a large genus of flies belonging to the family Bombyliidae. They are known as the bee-flies, due to their striking resemblance to bees and bumblebees, and are distributed worldwide. One species of the genus, Bombylius major, is widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere and is very well known.
The large bee-fly, Bombylius major, is a Batesian mimic of bees. Flies are eaten by other animals at all stages of their development. The eggs and larvae are parasitised by other insects and are eaten by many creatures, some of which specialise in feeding on flies but most of which consume them as part of a mixed diet.
Apocephalus borealis is a species of North American parasitoid phorid fly that attacks bumblebees, honey bees, and paper wasps.This parasitoid's genus Apocephalus is best known for the "decapitating flies" that attack a variety of ant species, though A. borealis attacks and alters the behavior of bees and wasps. [1]
P. tibialis flies parasitize many different species of bees by laying their eggs inside the abdomen of their host. [8] The larva hatches inside of the host and grows and develops until it takes up the majority of the host's abdomen. [9] [8] The host then dies and the larva envelopes itself in a puparium and pupates inside of the corpse. [10]
Anthrax analis, the black bee fly, is a North American species of bee fly in the family Bombyliidae. [6] It is a pollinator as well as a parasitoid whose hosts are various species of tiger beetles (genus Cicindela ), [ 7 ] [ 8 ] and likely solitary bees as well.
Bombylius fly larvae are ectoparasitoids that parasitise other insect larvae. B.canescens larvae parasitise the larvae of ground-nesting bees. [13]Adult B.canescens are more commonly observed in the early spring, [4] when adult activity coincides with nest initiation of host species.