Anthracini
Thraxan Bee Fly
Anthrax Bee Fly I 
Villini
Villa Bee Fly
Villa Bee Fly 2 
 
 

                                               

Subfamily Bombyliinae - True Bee Flies

Family Bombyliidae

This page contains pictures and information about True Bee Flies in Subfamily Bombyliinae that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.  
 
Bee Flies in the subfamily Bombyliinae usually have the stout and hairy body, with long and slender proboscis. The wing vein M1 meets R5 before the wing margin. Sometimes this subfamily is called True Bee Flies because their hairy body resembles bee. 
 
True Bee Flies have long proboscis and feed on nectar and pollen. On a sunny day, they are often seen on feed on flowers, hovering over vegetation or rest on bare ground. They are the the import pollinators, some are even the primary pollinators of some species of flower plants.
 
Their larvae are parasitic on other insects' eggs or larvae. 
 

 
Golden True Bee Fly
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? Staurostichus sp., body length 8mm
Pictures were taken on Alexandra Hill during late spring. We also found them resting on sandy soil in Karawatha Forest during mid summer. We have more pictures and information in this page.
  
 
Black and White True Bee Fly 
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? Staurostichus sp., body length 10mm
The beefly is large. It has the stout and hairy body, with long and slender proboscis. The throax is black and abdomen segment 2-4 covered with white hairs, are segments are black. Wings are half marked with black. Please check this page for more information.
 
 
 

Reference:
1. Insects of Australia, CSIRO, Division of Entomology, Melbourne University Press, 2nd Edition 1991, p 759.
2. Insects of Australia and New Zealand - R. J. Tillyard, Angus & Robertson, Ltd, Sydney, 1926, p364.
3. Bee Flies (Bombyliidae) - by Giff Beaton, 2005.
4. The cladistics and classification of the Bombyliidae (Diptera: Asiloidea) - by David K.Yeates, 1994. 

 
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Last updated: February 04, 2008.