Looking like a miniature Humming Bird Hawk Moth, the Large Bee-Fly, Bombylius major is making an appearance in village gardens. Moving rapidly from one spot to another in a behavioiur known as 'yawing' it is searching for the entrances to the underground nests of solitary bees, on which it is parasitic, in order to lay eggs which on hatching will start feeding on the wasp larvae.
The Bee-fly has only one pair of wings as opposed to a bee's two, and is thus a true fly.
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| Large Bee-Fly Photo: John Elliott |
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