#large bee-fly

[michaelnordeman]

Large bee-fly/stor svävfluga. Värmland, Sweden (May 1, 2025).

[rainbowlack]

this is the saddest wettest most pathetic creature i've ever seen in my life

[synalpheus]

And to finally revisit that one Sunday two weeks ago... beautiful weather and lots of nice animals! Last two photos are from my phone and I’m sorry about the quality haha. Anyway:

- Little ringed plovers (Charadrius dubius)

- Large bee-fly (Bombylius major). Very fluffy, but don’t be fooled! Their larvae live as parasites inside other insects.

- Just a nice view with flowering trees

- A bit of a solar halo effect

- Lots and lots of wood anemones (Anemonoides nemorosa). Some of the first flowers to bloom in spring!

[hortushorrei]

Bombylius major at La Macchina Fissa, (Mantova)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombylius_major

[michaelnordeman]

Bombylius major (Large Bee-fly, stor svävfluga).

[thesingingbullfrog]

Bombylius Major on Robin’s Plantain- The female Large Bee-fly flicks her eggs into the nests of bees and wasps. The tiny little guys hatch out and have a yummy meal of baby bee with a side order of baby wasp. Robin’s Plantain is a fleabane. People used to dry it out and put it in their mattresses to keep fleas away.

[astronomy-to-zoology]

Large Bee-fly (Bombylius major)

...is a species of bee-mimicking fly native to Europe, North America and parts of Asia. Like an actual bee the large bee-fly feeds exclusively on nectar using its long proboscis to reach into flowers. The Large bee-fly uses its disguise to get close to the nests of wasps and bees (particularity of the genus Andrena) once near the nest the fly will flick her eggs into or near the nest. They young will then feed on the wasp/bee's food-stock and exit when it is old enough.

Phylogeny

Animalia-Arthropoda-Insecta-Diptera-Bombyliidae-Bombylius-major

Image Source(s)