Posts Tagged: bee fly

Why Flies Are Pollinators, Too!

Will all the pollinators please stand up! Or do a fly-by like the Blue Angels or a crawl-by like babies competing in a diaper derby. Bees--there are more than 4000 of them in North America--are the main pollinators, but don't overlook butterflies,...

A bee fly, genus Villa, collecting pollen on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A bee fly, genus Villa, collecting pollen on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey bee (left) and a syrphid fly, aka hover fly or flower fly, sharing a Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey bee (left) and a syrphid fly, aka hover fly or flower fly, sharing a Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Bee Fly!

Have you ever seen a bee fly, a member of the family Bombylidae? It's about the size of some bees. It buzzes like a bee. But you can quickly tell it's not a bee by its behavior. It's a fast-moving, long-legged, fuzzylike critter that darts in and around...

Bee fly, a bombyliid, hovers like a helicopter. Note the long tongue. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) 2800 copy

Bee fly, a bombyliid, hovers like a helicopter. Note the long tongue. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bee fly foraging for nectar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bee fly foraging for nectar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Not Bees--They're Flies

There are "bees" and there are "flies."And then there are "bee flies."Bee flies? They're so named because they look somewhat like bees. Order: Diptera. Family: Bombyliidae.We spotted a single bee fly, as identified by UC Davis forensic entomologist Bob...

Bee Fly

A BEE FLY nectars on sedum. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Large Body

LARGE BODY of bee fly shows an equally large wing span. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Sip of Nectar

BEE FLY sips nectar from sedum. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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