Bee-fly (#2)

A couple of years back I posted about a bee-fly I came across at the Bunyip Sanctuary.

This is another bee-fly species – Villa genus, perhaps Villa cingulata – that appeared in my back garden a month or two ago.

There are over 5000 species of bee-flies, Bombliidae family, worldwide. Australia has around 100 described species but many more exist. Various references state there are about 270 Villa species, found on all continents except Antarctica.

Villa cingulata often rests on the ground as this one was doing, letting me click away. Unlike the bee-fly in the earlier post, this one has a short proboscis which it can tuck away when at rest.

Villa genus is a brood parasite of wasps and solitary bees. Before distributing her eggs, the female Villa coats them with sand she has collected in a dedicated chamber in her abdomen to make them more aerodynamic. She then hovers just above the unsuspecting host’s nest and flicks her eggs within the vicinity of the entrance (colloquially, she is called a ‘bomber fly’). The host wasp or bee inadvertently carries the Villa eggs into her nest and ultimately rears the Villa larvae.

Despite their ‘parasitic’ lifestyle, bee-flies are efficient pollinators, particularly of native plants. They may look like bees, perhaps to deter predation, but they are harmless to humans.

Welcome in my garden!

Bee Fly

Bees have 4 wings, a narrow waist, furry body, narrow eyes, long antennae. Wasps have 4 wings, a very narrow waist, bristly body, narrow eyes and long antennae. Flies have 2 wings, a ‘hidden’ waist, bristly body, large eyes and short antennae. Bee Flies have 2 wings, a ‘hidden’ waist, hairy body, large eyes and a long, unretractable proboscis.

There are many hundreds of species of Bee Flies so I won’t attempt to identify this one I found at the Bunyip Sanctuary some months ago. Worldwide, there is estimated to be hundreds of species yet to be described and for many species, their life cycles are completely unknown.

 Bee Flies are often found in sunny spots, frequently resting on bare ground or rocks, or hovering over flowers rather like Hover Flies. They feed on nectar and pollen and are important pollinators for many native plants.

They can vary in size from just a few millimetres to over 2 centimetres. Their larvae mostly parasitize other insects and their larvae.