Bee Flies

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Common names:  Bee Flies

Scientific name (Family):  Bombyliidae

Region:  North America and Europe

Life cycle:  One generation per year

Physical Description:  The adults have stout bodies, dense hair, and long slender wings.

Feeding characteristics:  Beneficial insects. Adults commonly feed on nectar and pollen.  The larvae are parasites (parasitic) on other insects' larvae and pupae and Grasshopper eggs.  The female fly deposits her eggs close to or in another insect's nest.  Others (Anthrax sp.)

Systoechus sp. and Aphoebantus sp. deposit their eggs close to the eggs of Grasshoppers and Beetles.  When the larvae hatch, they feed upon the young Bees, Wasps, or eggs of Grasshoppers.

Some are parasitic on Cutworms, Armyworms, and other Caterpillars.