Head to head
Bee-fly vs Bumblebee
Bee-fly
VS Bumblebee
The bee-fly is a fly that looks very like a small bumblebee, and the two are often seen visiting the same early spring flowers.
| Bee-fly | Bumblebee | |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific name | Bombylius major | Bombus terrestris |
| Group | A true fly, with only one pair of wings and no sting | A bee, which has two pairs of wings |
| Appearance | A plump, golden-brown furry body, wings with a dark leading edge held out to the sides, and a long rigid needle-like proboscis held straight out in front | A rounded body densely covered in branched hairs in bands of black and yellow, sometimes with orange |
| Feeding | Hovers to drink nectar from spring flowers such as primroses, violets, and dead-nettles | Collects nectar for energy and pollen for protein, carrying pollen packed on its hind legs |
| Flight | Hovers like a hummingbird, flicking its legs out to steady itself | Can vibrate its flight muscles without moving its wings to shake pollen from flowers, and can shiver to warm up and fly in cold, dull weather |
| Life cycle | Flicks eggs towards the entrances of mining bee nests, and the larvae eat the bee grubs and their food stores | A lone queen founds a nest in spring, often in an abandoned rodent burrow, and the colony grows to around 50 to 400 workers |
| Habitat and range | Gardens, meadows, and woodland edges across Europe, North Africa, and temperate Asia, and in parts of North America | Mainly the temperate and cooler parts of the Northern Hemisphere, with some species reaching the Arctic and high mountains |
| Conservation status | Not Evaluated globally, though widespread and common | Least Concern |
Bee-fly vs Bumblebee: common questions
Is a bee-fly a bee?
No, it is a fly with only one pair of wings that looks like a small bumblebee, and it has no sting.
How can you tell a bee-fly from a bumblebee?
The bee-fly has a long rigid proboscis held out in front, dark-edged wings held out to the sides, and hovers in front of flowers.
What do bee-fly larvae do?
They enter the nests of mining bees and eat the bee grubs and their food stores.