Bombylius
Encyclopedia
Bombylius is a large genus of flies
belonging to the family Bombyliidae
, known as the bee-flies, due to their striking resemblance to bee
s and bumblebee
s, and are distributed through environments world-wide.
One species of the genus, Bombylius major
, is widely distributed throughout the whole northern hemisphere and is very well known.
All species in the genus share a similarity with the unrelated bees and bumblebees, which they mimic
, possessing a thick coat of fur, with a colour ranging from yellow to orange. They can, however, be told apart from their models by the long and stiff proboscis
they possess, used for probing for nectar as they fly (much like a hummingbird
), by their rapid and darting flight, and by the peculiar structure of their legs.
As larvae, they are parasitic and infest the nests of solitary bees, consuming their food stores and grubs.
Europe
North American
Diptera
Diptera , or true flies, is the order of insects possessing only a single pair of wings on the mesothorax; the metathorax bears a pair of drumstick like structures called the halteres, the remnants of the hind wings. It is a large order, containing an estimated 240,000 species, although under half...
belonging to the family Bombyliidae
Bombyliidae
Bombyliidae is a large family of flies with hundreds of genera, although their life cycles are not well known. Adults generally feed on nectar and pollen, thus are pollinators of flowers. They superficially resemble bees, thus are commonly called bee flies, and this may offer the adults some...
, known as the bee-flies, due to their striking resemblance to bee
Bee
Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila...
s and bumblebee
Bumblebee
A bumble bee is any member of the bee genus Bombus, in the family Apidae. There are over 250 known species, existing primarily in the Northern Hemisphere although they are common in New Zealand and in the Australian state of Tasmania.Bumble bees are social insects that are characterised by black...
s, and are distributed through environments world-wide.
One species of the genus, Bombylius major
Bombylius major
The large bee fly, Bombylius major, is a bee mimic. The eggs are flicked by the adult female toward the entrance of the underground nests of solitary bees and wasps...
, is widely distributed throughout the whole northern hemisphere and is very well known.
Physiology
Mimic
In evolutionary biology, mimicry is the similarity of one species to another which protects one or both. This similarity can be in appearance, behaviour, sound, scent and even location, with the mimics found in similar places to their models....
, possessing a thick coat of fur, with a colour ranging from yellow to orange. They can, however, be told apart from their models by the long and stiff proboscis
Proboscis
A proboscis is an elongated appendage from the head of an animal, either a vertebrate or an invertebrate. In simpler terms, a proboscis is the straw-like mouth found in several varieties of species.-Etymology:...
they possess, used for probing for nectar as they fly (much like a hummingbird
Hummingbird
Hummingbirds are birds that comprise the family Trochilidae. They are among the smallest of birds, most species measuring in the 7.5–13 cm range. Indeed, the smallest extant bird species is a hummingbird, the 5-cm Bee Hummingbird. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings...
), by their rapid and darting flight, and by the peculiar structure of their legs.
As larvae, they are parasitic and infest the nests of solitary bees, consuming their food stores and grubs.
EuropeEuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an species
- Subgenus Bombylius
- Bombylius aaroni Báez, 1983 – Canary IslandsCanary IslandsThe Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
- Bombylius ambustus Pallas, 1818 – southern Palaearctic, Near EastNear EastThe Near East is a geographical term that covers different countries for geographers, archeologists, and historians, on the one hand, and for political scientists, economists, and journalists, on the other...
- Bombylius analis OlivierGuillaume-Antoine OlivierGuillaume-Antoine Olivier was a French entomologist.He was the author of Entomologie, ou histoire naturelle des Insectes and Le Voyage dans l'Empire Othoman, l'Égypte et la Perse . He was a close friend of Johan Christian Fabricius and a patron of Pierre André Latreille.-References:...
, 1789 – southern Palaearctic, Near East - Bombylius candidus LoewHermann LoewFriedrich Hermann Loew was a German entomologist who specialised in the study of Diptera, an order of insects including flies, mosquitoes, gnats and midges...
, 1855 – Palaearctic, Near East - Bombylius canescens Mikan, 1796 – Palaearctic, Near East
- Bombylius cinerascens Mikan, 1796 – Europe, Near East
- Bombylius citrinus LoewHermann LoewFriedrich Hermann Loew was a German entomologist who specialised in the study of Diptera, an order of insects including flies, mosquitoes, gnats and midges...
, 1855 – southern Europe, Near East - Bombylius discolor Mikan, 1796 – Europe, Near East
- Bombylius fimbriatus MeigenJohann Wilhelm MeigenJohann Wilhelm Meigen was a German entomologist famous for his pioneering work on Diptera.-Early years:Meigen was born in Solingen, the fifth of eight children of Johann Clemens Meigen and Sibylla Margaretha Bick. His parents, though not poor, were not wealthy either. The ran a small shop in...
, 1820 – Palaearctic, Near East, North Africa - Bombylius flavipes WiedemannChristian Rudolph Wilhelm WiedemannChristian Rudolph Wilhelm Wiedemann , was a German physician, historian, naturalist and entomologist...
, 1828 – ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Near East, North Africa - Bombylius floccosus LoewHermann LoewFriedrich Hermann Loew was a German entomologist who specialised in the study of Diptera, an order of insects including flies, mosquitoes, gnats and midges...
, 1857 – southeastern Europe, Near East - Bombylius fulvescens WiedemannChristian Rudolph Wilhelm WiedemannChristian Rudolph Wilhelm Wiedemann , was a German physician, historian, naturalist and entomologist...
in MeigenJohann Wilhelm MeigenJohann Wilhelm Meigen was a German entomologist famous for his pioneering work on Diptera.-Early years:Meigen was born in Solingen, the fifth of eight children of Johann Clemens Meigen and Sibylla Margaretha Bick. His parents, though not poor, were not wealthy either. The ran a small shop in...
, 1820 – Palaearctic, Near East, North Africa - Bombylius fumosus DufourLéon Jean Marie DufourLéon Jean Marie Dufour was a French medical doctor and naturalist .Between 1799 and 1806 he studied medicine in Paris then returned to Saint-Sever in the Landes...
, 1832 – Spain - Bombylius fuscus FabriciusJohan Christian FabriciusJohan Christian Fabricius was a Danish zoologist, specialising in "Insecta", which at that time included all arthropods: insects, arachnids, crustaceans and others...
, 1791 – southern Palaearctic, Near East, North Africa - Bombylius kutshurganicus Paramonov, 1926 – southern RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, UkraineUkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, MoldovaMoldovaMoldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part... - Bombylius majorBombylius majorThe large bee fly, Bombylius major, is a bee mimic. The eggs are flicked by the adult female toward the entrance of the underground nests of solitary bees and wasps...
LinnaeusCarolus LinnaeusCarl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology...
, 1758Systema NaturaeThe book was one of the major works of the Swedish botanist, zoologist and physician Carolus Linnaeus. The first edition was published in 1735... - Bombylius medius LinnaeusCarolus LinnaeusCarl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology...
, 1758Systema NaturaeThe book was one of the major works of the Swedish botanist, zoologist and physician Carolus Linnaeus. The first edition was published in 1735...
– Palaearctic, Near East, North Africa - Bombylius minor LinnaeusCarolus LinnaeusCarl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology...
, 1758Systema NaturaeThe book was one of the major works of the Swedish botanist, zoologist and physician Carolus Linnaeus. The first edition was published in 1735...
– Palaearctic, Near East - Bombylius modestus LoewHermann LoewFriedrich Hermann Loew was a German entomologist who specialised in the study of Diptera, an order of insects including flies, mosquitoes, gnats and midges...
, 1873 – southern Palaearctic, Near East, North Africa - Bombylius mus BigotJacques-Marie-Frangile BigotJacques Marie Frangile Bigot was a French naturalist and entomologist most noted for his studies of Diptera. Born in Paris, where he lived all his life, though he had a small house in Quincy-sous-Sénart, Essonne.He became a member of the Entomological Society of France in 1844. His first paper...
, 1862 – southern Palaearctic, Near East, North Africa - Bombylius niveus MeigenJohann Wilhelm MeigenJohann Wilhelm Meigen was a German entomologist famous for his pioneering work on Diptera.-Early years:Meigen was born in Solingen, the fifth of eight children of Johann Clemens Meigen and Sibylla Margaretha Bick. His parents, though not poor, were not wealthy either. The ran a small shop in...
, 1804 – southern Europe, Near East - Bombylius nubilus Mikan, 1796 – central and southern Europe, Near East, North Africa
- Bombylius oceanus BeckerTheodor BeckerTheodor Becker was a German civil engineer and entomologist primarily known for his work with flies....
, 1908 – Canary Islands - Bombylius pallens WiedemannChristian Rudolph Wilhelm WiedemannChristian Rudolph Wilhelm Wiedemann , was a German physician, historian, naturalist and entomologist...
in MeigenJohann Wilhelm MeigenJohann Wilhelm Meigen was a German entomologist famous for his pioneering work on Diptera.-Early years:Meigen was born in Solingen, the fifth of eight children of Johann Clemens Meigen and Sibylla Margaretha Bick. His parents, though not poor, were not wealthy either. The ran a small shop in...
, 1820 – Italy, Spain, PortugalPortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the... - Bombylius pardalotus François, 1969 – Italy, Spain
- Bombylius pintuarius Báez, 1983 – Canary Islands
- Bombylius posticus FabriciusJohan Christian FabriciusJohan Christian Fabricius was a Danish zoologist, specialising in "Insecta", which at that time included all arthropods: insects, arachnids, crustaceans and others...
, 1805 – Palaearctic, Near East, North Africa - Bombylius pumilus MeigenJohann Wilhelm MeigenJohann Wilhelm Meigen was a German entomologist famous for his pioneering work on Diptera.-Early years:Meigen was born in Solingen, the fifth of eight children of Johann Clemens Meigen and Sibylla Margaretha Bick. His parents, though not poor, were not wealthy either. The ran a small shop in...
, 1820 – southern Europe, Near East - Bombylius semifuscus MeigenJohann Wilhelm MeigenJohann Wilhelm Meigen was a German entomologist famous for his pioneering work on Diptera.-Early years:Meigen was born in Solingen, the fifth of eight children of Johann Clemens Meigen and Sibylla Margaretha Bick. His parents, though not poor, were not wealthy either. The ran a small shop in...
, 1820 – Palaearctic, Near East, North Africa - Bombylius shelkovnikovi Paramonov, 1926 – Italy, GreeceGreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, eastern Palaearctic, Near East - Bombylius torquatus LoewHermann LoewFriedrich Hermann Loew was a German entomologist who specialised in the study of Diptera, an order of insects including flies, mosquitoes, gnats and midges...
, 1855 – southern Europe, Near East, North Africa - Bombylius trichurus Pallas, 1818 – Palaearctic, Near East
- Bombylius venosus Mikan, 1796 – Europe, Near East
- Subgenus Zephyrectes
- Bombylius cinerarius Pallas & WiedemannChristian Rudolph Wilhelm WiedemannChristian Rudolph Wilhelm Wiedemann , was a German physician, historian, naturalist and entomologist...
, 1818 – southern Palaearctic, Near East, North Africa - Bombylius cruciatus FabriciusJohan Christian FabriciusJohan Christian Fabricius was a Danish zoologist, specialising in "Insecta", which at that time included all arthropods: insects, arachnids, crustaceans and others...
, 1798 – southern Europe, Near East, North Africa - Bombylius leucopygus MacquartJustin Pierre Marie MacquartJustin Pierre Marie Macquart was a French entomologist specialising in the study of Diptera. He worked on world species as well as European and described many new species.-Early years:...
, 1846 – Spain, North Africa - Bombylius quadrifarius LoewHermann LoewFriedrich Hermann Loew was a German entomologist who specialised in the study of Diptera, an order of insects including flies, mosquitoes, gnats and midges...
. 1855 – seoutheastern Europe, eastern Palaearctic, Near East
North AmericanNearcticThe Nearctic is one of the eight terrestrial ecozones dividing the Earth's land surface.The Nearctic ecozone covers most of North America, including Greenland and the highlands of Mexico...
species
- Bombylius aestivus
- Bombylius albicapillus
- Bombylius altimyia
- Bombylius anthophilus
- Bombylius anthophoroides
- Bombylius arizonicus
- Bombylius atriceps
- Bombylius aureus
- Bombylius aurifer
- Bombylius auriferiodes
- Bombylius austini
- Bombylius balion
- Bombylius ballmeri
- Bombylius breviabdominalis
- Bombylius cachinnans
- Bombylius cinerivus
- Bombylius comanche
- Bombylius curtirhynchus
- Bombylius diegoensis
- Bombylius duncani
- Bombylius eboreus
- Bombylius facialis
- Bombylius fascipennis
- Bombylius flavifacies
- Bombylius flavipilosa
- Bombylius fraudulentus
- Bombylius frommerorum
- Bombylius fulvibasoides
- Bombylius helvus
- Bombylius heximaculatus
- Bombylius incanus
- Bombylius japygus
- Bombylius kanabensis
- Bombylius lancifer
- Bombylius lassenensis
- Bombylius macfarlandi
- Bombylius medorae
- Bombylius metopium
- Bombylius mexicanus
- Bombylius mohavensis
- Bombylius montanus
- Bombylius nevadensis
- Bombylius nicholsonae
- Bombylius nigriventris
- Bombylius painteri
- Bombylius pendens
- Bombylius phlogmodes
- Bombylius plichtai
- Bombylius pygmaeus http://www.canadianbiodiversity.mcgill.ca/english/species/insects/insectpages/Bombyliidae.htm
- Bombylius quirinus
- Bombylius ravus
- Bombylius silvus
- Bombylius sylphae
- Bombylius texanus
- Bombylius validus
- Bombylius varius
- Bombylius washingtoniensis
- Bombylius xanthothrix
- Bombylius zapataensis
- Bombylius zircon