Course: Bee-flies

Learn about Bee-fly (family Bombyliidae identification and ecology with entomologist Dr Tony Madgwick.

This session is perfect for entomologists, ecologists and conservationists looking to improve their understanding of this group of these bee-mimicking flies.

Bee-flies (family Bombyliidae) are a charismatic family of true flies in which the most common species famously mimic ground-nesting solitary bees, having a round, brown, furry body. With their long straight proboscis obvious at rest and when feeding on nectar while hovering, and their fast darting flight, they easily attract an observer’s attention.

The life cycles of bee-flies are fascinating variations on a theme. While the adults obtain nutrients from flowers, the larvae are parasitoids, cleptoparasites, or even hyperparasitoids, of their hosts (typically solitary bees and wasps). Bee-flies are most often encountered in warm, sunny habitats such as gardens, woodland edges, and open sandy ground, and they are most often seen in early spring.

This entoLEARN webinar will cover the 9 species of bee-fly that occur within the UK mainland:

• Bombylius major (Dark-edged Bee-fly)
• Bombylius discolor (Dotted Bee-fly)
• Bombylius canescens (Western Bee-fly)
• Bombylius minor (Heath Bee-fly)
• Villa cingulata (Downland Villa)
• Villa modesta (Dune Villa)
• Thyridanthrax fenestratus (Mottled Bee-fly)
• Phthiria pulicaria (Flea Bee-fly)
• Anthrax anthrax (Black-winged Bee-fly)

The 90-minute event will consist of a 1-hour presentation followed by a Q&A with the tutor using questions provided by the live audience. The presentation will be recorded and made available following the event to those booked alongside a transcript of the Q&A and useful links.