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Tag Archives: Dark-edged bee-fly

Bee-flies are go!

18 Friday Mar 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects, spring

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Tags

Bee-fly, Bombylius major, British bee-flies, Dark-edged bee-fly, signs of spring

Actually, keen-eyed bee-fly fanciers have been spotting these fuzzy little beasties for a week or so now, and by 14 March, 14 records – all in England – had been entered in to the recording system. And yesterday, in warm sunshine and alongside a sheltered footpath with plenty of flowering Lesser celandine, I finally saw my first bee-fly of the year. This is a Dark-edged bee-fly (Bombylius major); although there are other species in Britain, this is the only species local to me.

220318 bee-fly

For everything you might ever want to know about bee-flies, there’s a fantastic presentation The A to Z of Bee-flies on the FSC Biodiversity channel on YouTube.

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It’s bee-fly time again

30 Tuesday Mar 2021

Posted by sconzani in spring

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Tags

Bee-fly, British bee-flies, Dark-edged bee-fly

My, what long legs you have! My, what a long proboscis you have! But this is no big bad wolf – it’s a bee-fly, a Dark-edged bee-fly (Bombylius major) to be precise.

210330 dark-edged bee-fly (1)

There are several species of bee-fly in Britain but this is the only one I’ve seen – we don’t appear to get any others locally. Still, it’s fabulous to see these furry creatures flitting from flower to flower again. Yet another sign of spring!

210330 dark-edged bee-fly (2)
210330 dark-edged bee-fly (3)

The Soldierflies and Allies Recording Scheme has been running Bee-fly Watch for the last six years and wants your help to track the emergence and the spread of bee-flies in Britain. You can find out more on their website.

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105/366 A colony of miners

14 Tuesday Apr 2020

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature, spring

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Andrena cineraria, Ashy mining bee, Bombylius major, British bees, Dark-edged bee-fly, mining bee colony

I’d forgotten about this little colony of Ashy mining bees (Andrena cineraria) until I walked past on today’s exercise walk, saw their buzz of spring activity, remembered them at this location last summer. The female bees have set up home – a series of individual nests, accessed by the small holes you can see in my photos – in a sandy bank near the entrance to one of the few local parks that’s still open.

200414 ashy mining bee male (1)200414 ashy mining bee male (2)

The males in this group (2 of perhaps 20 shown above) were particularly active, sometimes fighting each other for access to the larger females (the two photos immediately below), sometimes battling with the females as they tried to mate with them.

200414 ashy mining bee female (1)
200414 ashy mining bee female (2)

200414 ashy mining bees

Unfortunately, I was not the only creature watching the bees’ activity – a Dark-edged bee-fly (Bombylius major) was also hovering nearby, waiting to roll its eggs into the bees’ tunnels so its larvae could predate the bees’ offspring. Not surprisingly, the bees were dive-bombing, trying to make it flee.

200414 dark-edged bee-fly

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85/365 A day of firsts

26 Tuesday Mar 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, ladybird, nature, spring

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

#365DaysWild, 7-spot ladybirds, bee-flies, Comma butterfly, Common Green Shieldbug, Dark-edged bee-fly, Peacock butterfly, Penarth Rail Trail, Sawfly, south Wales coastal path, Speckled wood

190326 (1) rail trail

I walked further than I intended today but I just couldn’t resist the sunshine, the calls of the birds, the bees and hoverflies buzzing all around, the white blossom and the vibrant green leaf growth … it was magical! Yesterday, I saw my first Peacock butterflies of the year and today I saw four more, plus my first two Speckled woods and my first Comma, my first Common green shieldbug and my first Dark-edged bee-flies, lots of them, and my first 7-spot ladybirds. It gladdens my heart to see so much new life emerging.

 

190326 (2) speckled wood
190326 (3) bee-fly
190326 (4) 7-spot ladybird
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
190326 (6) bee-fly
190326 (7) peacock
190326 (8) comma
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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
190326 (11) bee-fly

190326 (12) coastal path

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About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

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