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biodiversity explorer

the web of life in southern Africa

Family: Bombyliidae (bee flies)

Life > Eukaryotes > Opisthokonta > Metazoa (animals) > Bilateria > Ecdysozoa > Panarthropoda > Tritocerebra > Phylum: Arthopoda > Mandibulata > Atelocerata > Panhexapoda > Hexapoda > Insecta (insects) > Dicondyla > Pterygota > Metapterygota > Neoptera > Eumetabola > Holometabola > Panorpida > Antliophora > Diptera (flies) > Brachycera > Muscomorpha > Asiloidea

Bee fly in Edmondia sesamoides inflorescence Bee fly (Bombyliidae) feeding from Lobelia flower

Unidentified bee fly in Edmondia sesamoides inflorescence (Asteraceae); mesic mountain fynbos. [photo Hamish Robertson]

Bee fly (Bombyliidae) feeding from Lobelia flower.[photo Hamish Robertson]
Exoprosopa heros, south coast strandveld. Villa sp. in lowland mesic mountain fynbos

Exoprosopa heros, south coast strandveld. [photo Hamish Robertson]

Villa sp. in lowland mesic mountain fynbos.[photo Hamish Robertson]

Bombyliid flies visit flowers as adults, being important pollinators of some species. Most species are parasitic on larvae and eggs of insects that develop underground such as those of many wasp and grasshopper species. However, the lifecycles of most of the 759 known South African species (SA Animal Checklist), are unknown.