Bombylius Major - Bee fly too??

[Rainforest]

I was just working on this photo this morning from last year and saw Mark's post. I have always wondered what this little fellow was that happily entered my shot. Is it a Bee fly?? thanks and C&C welcome too.

Inner life of a Magnolia blossom:

I recropped this - I like it better :-)

[marlunn]

Nice image Susan, looks like a type of honey bee - but definitely a bee of some sort and not a fly

[Shadowman]

Nicely done.

[Rainforest]

Nice image Susan, looks like a type of honey bee - but definitely a bee of some sort and not a fly

Good to know and thank you Mark :-)

Thanks John too!

[IzzieK]

I have not seen a bee fly landed on anything yet so far and I have been observing them for quite sometime now because of our bug-o-graphers here. But it is a very pretty shot, Susan...I like the crop better as it shows more of the character of the flower and its visitor. It's about the shapes too.

[DanK]

Nice shots. It's a bee, not a bee fly. There are several things that are a give-away. Flies have flat antennae, and the shape of the eye is very different. It's harder to see in a shot like this, but flies have only two wings rather than 4. Many bees (but not all) have structures on their legs to collect pollen--scoops on the back legs and hairs.

A honeybee. Note the shape of the head and eyes and the thin, jointed antennae. (Native bees on this side of the pond don't have hairs coming out of their eyes.



A fly. Note the paddle-shaped antennae and the rounded eyes.

[Rainforest]

I have not seen a bee fly landed on anything yet so far and I have been observing them for quite sometime now because of our bug-o-graphers here. But it is a very pretty shot, Susan...I like the crop better as it shows more of the character of the flower and its visitor. It's about the shapes too.

Thank you Izzie. I agree about the shapes. Hope you see some bugs soon :-)

[Rainforest]

Nice shots. It's a bee, not a bee fly. There are several things that are a give-away. Flies have flat antennae, and the shape of the eye is very different. It's harder to see in a shot like this, but flies have only two wings rather than 4. Many bees (but not all) have structures on their legs to collect pollen--scoops on the back legs and hairs.

A honeybee. Note the shape of the head and eyes and the thin, jointed antennae. (Native bees on this side of the pond don't have hairs coming out of their eyes.



A fly. Note the paddle-shaped antennae and the rounded eyes.

Thanks so much for the photos and info Dan. I should at least be able to tell the difference between bee and fly going forward. Thanks again.

[Mike Buckley]

All the images in this thread are really nice! Great use of composition and color.

[marlunn]

And of course just to add to the fun, all thats furry is not always a bee or a fly - sometimes its a Hoverfly - the good news is the antenna are the key - they are not long and segmented on Hoverflies - and any hairs are not coarse like on a true fly

A Merodon equestris hoverfly - a bumblebee mimic, as you can see !

[Mike Buckley]

After seeing all the criteria you folks have to understand to be able to properly identify these animals, I'll do my best to stop feeling sorry for myself when a wine label doesn't display all the grape species used to make the wine.

[DanK]

After seeing all the criteria you folks have to understand to be able to properly identify these animals, I'll do my best to stop feeling sorry for myself when a wine label doesn't display all the grape species used to make the wine.

OK, now I am confused. Here's the classification of that bug:

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Syrphidae
Genus: Merodon
Species: M. equestris

I thought the order diptera (two wings) comprises the flies. The family syrphidea is hoverflies. You clearly mean something more specific by "true fly," but I'm not familiar with that term. Does it refer to another family of diptera?

[marlunn]

Dan, My apologies, no confusion intended, that was me being 'slack' In effect those that are recognised as 'flies' by most people, and yes not all 'flies' have coarse hair but the majority of easy to recognise 'flies' have compared to hoverflies.

Therin lies the demon of not being totally precise but trying to be descriptive to allow a basic differentiator as an aid to simple recognition of the groups at a general level. You are of course correct in the classification.

[DanK]

Thanks, Mark. No reason to apologize. I just wondered whether I had missed something akin to the term "true bug."

To the novice like me, the range of bugs that are actually flies is mind-boggling. A great site for this is diptera.info.

Mike, Sorry, I quoted the wrong post.

[Mike Buckley]

Not a problem, Dan. If anything, you helped make my point.

[IzzieK]

Thank you Izzie. I agree about the shapes. Hope you see some bugs soon :-)

I did! at the Botanical Garden and Bill was laughing at me at first for trying to photograph the darn thing until it becomes too much for him to grin and bear and he started hiding from the other visitors passing by. I got two good shots but Mark's uploads is more like the one I was trying to follow. Because of my fingers I can only use the 105mm -- I can't use the macro extension tube and I am embarrassed to ask my husband. I am healing fast but not fast enough..

[vaez]

nice my fav 2 and last pic

[Rainforest]

Dan, My apologies, no confusion intended, that was me being 'slack' In effect those that are recognised as 'flies' by most people, and yes not all 'flies' have coarse hair but the majority of easy to recognise 'flies' have compared to hoverflies.

Therin lies the demon of not being totally precise but trying to be descriptive to allow a basic differentiator as an aid to simple recognition of the groups at a general level. You are of course correct in the classification.

Dan and Mark, It's so nice to have experts in the field so to speak. I have a few more to post in the future but I actually think I know what they are --- or perhaps not! ;-) thanks again for the information, it's appreciated.