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Up to Discussions in Bug forum
9709 Views 4 Replies Last post: May 2, 2011 1:40 PM by OneTreeHouse RSS
gardener Beginner
gardener
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Apr 6, 2011 8:45 PM

Can you identify this bee(?) with a long proboscis

Strangely, I think this may be  the same insect as that posted by paul less than a minute ago. There have been two of these in my garden for the last week. They have a high-pitched buzz but don't seem to land on any flowers - they just hover over the patio most of the time.

bee1.jpg

  • Florin - Museum ID team Master
    Florin - Museum ID team
    Currently Being Moderated
    Apr 24, 2013 2:10 PM (in response to gardener)
    Re: Can you identify this bee(?) with a long proboscis

    Hello,

     

    That's an interesting photo. To me it looks like a Dotted Bee-fly (Bombylius discolor), less common than the Large Bee-fly (Bombylius major). You can tell it’s a B. discolor by its darker brown end of abdomen, as seen in this photo. You can also compare the two species in these side-by-side photos here and here, although in your photo you can’t see the main character to make an ID – the wing pattern, because it's taken in flight. Body colour should suffice.

     

    I hope this helps. Thanks for sharing this.

     

    Florin

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    • gardener Beginner
      gardener
      Currently Being Moderated
      Apr 7, 2011 8:11 PM (in response to Florin - Museum ID team)
      Re: Can you identify this bee(?) with a long proboscis

      Hi,

       

      Thanks for the reply.

       

      I've had a look at the links  you provided and also found another site that describes the way they  move about and it's all spot-on. A three-year mystery solved - I wish  I'd found this forum earlier!

       

      Shame they're bee parasites - I'd thought they were quite sweet until now.

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      • bombuslucorum - Museum ID team Master
        bombuslucorum - Museum ID team
        Currently Being Moderated
        Apr 8, 2011 9:17 AM (in response to gardener)
        Re: Can you identify this bee(?) with a long proboscis
        Aha - you have been reading up. These are not strictly parasites, rather cleptoparasites as the larvae of the bee-flies 'steal' the provinder (a paste made of nectar and honey) that has been stored for the bees larvae. The bees they steal from are solitary bee species (of which there are over 250 UK species) not honeybees or bumblebees. Diversity in nature often arises from one species exploiting another in such ways and in this case there is unlikely to be an adverse effect on the populations of the host species. So the bee population (just over 280 species in the UK - mostly solitary species) is safe, albeit a little exploited - but that's' life, even for bees
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  • OneTreeHouse Novice
    OneTreeHouse
    Currently Being Moderated
    May 2, 2011 1:40 PM (in response to gardener)
    Re: Can you identify this bee(?) with a long proboscis
    Aha! So this is what I have just found. Mystery solved.
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