Bombylius

Bombylius
Bombylius major
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Diptera
Family:	Bombyliidae
Tribe:
Genus:	Bombylius Linnaeus, 1758
Type species
B. major Linnaeus, 1758[1]
Synonyms
Choristus Walker, 1852 Parisus Walker, 1852 Triplasius Loew, 1855

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.^[1][2]

Physiology[]

Bombylius major

Bombylius discolor flying

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 to probe 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 (and possibly wasps),^[3] consuming their food stores and grubs.

Species[]

European species[]

• Subgenus
  • Báez, 1983 – Canary Islands
  • Pallas, 1818 – southern Palaearctic, Near East
  • Olivier, 1789 – southern Palaearctic, Near East
  • Loew, 1855 – Palaearctic, Near East
  • Bombylius canescens Mikan, 1796 – Palaearctic, Near East
  • Mikan, 1796 – Europe, Near East
  • Loew, 1855 – southern Europe, Near East
  • Bombylius discolor Mikan, 1796 – Europe, Near East
  • Meigen, 1820 – Palaearctic, Near East, North Africa
  • Wiedemann, 1828 – Italy, Spain, Near East, North Africa
  • Loew, 1857 – southeastern Europe, Near East
  • Wiedemann in Meigen, 1820 – Palaearctic, Near East, North Africa
  • Dufour, 1832 – Spain
  • Fabricius, 1791 – southern Palaearctic, Near East, North Africa
  • Paramonov, 1926 – southern Russia, Ukraine, Moldova
  • Bombylius major Linnaeus, 1758
  • Linnaeus, 1758 – Palaearctic, Near East, North Africa
  • Bombylius minor Linnaeus, 1758 – Palaearctic, Near East
  • Loew, 1873 – southern Palaearctic, Near East, North Africa
  • Bigot, 1862 – southern Palaearctic, Near East, North Africa
  • Meigen, 1804 – southern Europe, Near East
  • Mikan, 1796 – central and southern Europe, Near East, North Africa
  • Becker, 1908 – Canary Islands
  • Wiedemann in Meigen, 1820 – Italy, Spain, Portugal
  • François, 1969 – Italy, Spain
  • Báez, 1983 – Canary Islands
  • Fabricius, 1805 – Palaearctic, Near East, North Africa
  • Meigen, 1820 – southern Europe, Near East
  • Meigen, 1820 – Palaearctic, Near East, North Africa
  • Paramonov, 1926 – Italy, Greece, eastern Palaearctic, Near East
  • Loew, 1855 – southern Europe, Near East, North Africa
  • Pallas, 1818 – Palaearctic, Near East
  • Mikan, 1796 – Europe, Near East
• Subgenus
  • Pallas & Wiedemann, 1818 – southern Palaearctic, Near East, North Africa
  • Fabricius, 1798 – southern Europe, Near East, North Africa
  • Macquart, 1846 – Spain, North Africa
  • Loew. 1855 – southeastern Europe, eastern Palaearctic, Near East

North American species[]

Species Worldwide[]

• List of Bombylius species

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bombylius.

• Fauna Europaea
• Nomina Insecta Nearctica