Bombylius in the Cemetery

A rather strange, but attractive, little creature is paying its annual visit to our area. In the City of London Cemetery - and almost certainly elsewhere - Bombylius is flying around. There were a number of them in the cemetery on 23rd March.

Bombylius is the bee-fly - its name describes it quite well. It is actually a true fly - a member of the Order Diptera. These "True Flies" are the ones that have just two wings; other insects that might have the name of "fly" attached - such as Damselfly - have four wings. In the true flies, the second pair of wings have been reduced to small stabilizing appendages called "halteres".

So what does Bombylius look like? Well, at first sight it might appear to be a bee; they are somewhat stout and somewhat hairy. They move about feeding in a similar way to bees, have a somewhat darting movement, and often fly close to the ground. They can also hover remarkably well - in this case resembling Hover-flies. Perhaps the most distinguishing feature, however, is the long proboscis - giving a somewhat Pinocchio-like appearance. A closer view will show that their legs - unlike bumble-bees, are long and slender. Of course they use this to probe for nectar in flowers, and whilst doing so sometimes appear to hover by the flower. In fact - although they do hover - very often they are using a pair of these slender legs to attach to the plant. There are apparently 12 species in Britain, but the most common is Bombylius major and, with my limited knowledge of these, the ones I am seeing certainly look like that species.

I tend to see them first in the latter part of March and during April, but not much after. As with a number of insects with a long proboscis, they may be thought to sting. However they are completely harmless and one of my favourite insects.

Paul Ferris, 24th March 2011

The Bee-fly, Bombylius major, in the City of London Cemetery on 24th March

The Bee-fly - showing the proboscis