Dark Edged Beefly
Taken at Baron's Haugh on 15th April 2021 using Panasonic Lumix LX5 in macro mode.
Fact File
Taken at Baron's Haugh on 18th April 2020 using Panasonic Lumix LX5 in macro mode.
Fact File
Beefly
Beefly
Taken at Baron's Haugh on 24th April 2017 using Panasonic Lumix LX5 in macro mode. Fact File
Taken at Baron's Haugh on 8th April 2015 using Panasonic Lumix LX5 in macro mode. Fact File

Dark Edged Beefly.
Species
Order:
Family:
A.K.A.
Bombylius major
Diptera.
Bombyliidae.
Greater  Beefly
Larval Food:
Adult Food:
Body Length:
Wingspan:
Description:





Habitat:
Flies/Found:
Feature:
Beetle larvae and the brood of solitary wasps and bees
Nectar of many species of flower, especially primroses.
Adult 14 - 18 mm.
24 mm
Their body is stout and furry, with the top of the thorax being black and shiny and the pile either brown, yellow, or white. They have long spindly legs as well as a long rigid proboscis found in the front of the head. Their boldly patterned wings have a distinct dividing border through the horizontal middle between the dark and clear portions. Their antennae are typically very short and pointed.
Throughout temperate climates.
April - June
When close to the bee's burrow, the female will flick her eggs into or near the nests of the host insects. The larvae are hypermetamorphic parasitoids which then feed on the food stored, as well as the young solitary bees or wasps. If the female is unable to flick her eggs near the nest she plants them on flowers visited by the host insects. The developing larvae then make their way to the host nest or attach themselves to the bees or wasps to then be carried to the nest.