''Bombylius'' is a large genus of fly, flies belonging to the family Bombyliidae. They are known as the bee-flies, due to their striking resemblance to bees and bumblebees, and are distributed worldwide. One species of the genus, ''Bombylius major'', is widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere and is very well known.

Physiology

All species in the genus share a similarity with the unrelated bees and bumblebees, which they mimic, possessing a thick coat of fur, with a colour ranging from yellow to orange. They can, however, be told apart from their models by the long and stiff proboscis they possess, used to probe for nectar as they fly (much like a hummingbird), by their rapid and darting flight, and by the peculiar structure of their legs. As larvae, they are parasitic and infest the nests of solitary bees (and possibly wasps),Searching for the Right Target: Oviposition and Feeding Behavior in ''Bombylius'' Bee Flies (Diptera: Bombyliidae)
/ref> consuming their food stores and grubs.

Species

European species

*Subgenus ''Bombylius (subgenus), Bombylius'' **''Bombylius aaroni'' Báez, 1983 – Canary Islands **''Bombylius ambustus'' Pallas, 1818 – southern Palaearctic, Near East **''Bombylius analis'' Guillaume-Antoine Olivier, Olivier, 1789 – southern Palaearctic, Near East **''Bombylius candidus'' Hermann Loew, Loew, 1855 – Palaearctic, Near East **''Bombylius canescens'' Mikan, 1796 – Palaearctic, Near East **''Bombylius cinerascens'' Mikan, 1796 – Europe, Near East **''Bombylius citrinus'' Hermann Loew, Loew, 1855 – southern Europe, Near East **''Bombylius discolor'' Mikan, 1796 – Europe, Near East **''Bombylius fimbriatus'' Johann Wilhelm Meigen, Meigen, 1820 – Palaearctic, Near East, North Africa **''Bombylius flavipes'' Christian Rudolph Wilhelm Wiedemann, Wiedemann, 1828 – Italy, Spain, Near East, North Africa **''Bombylius floccosus'' Hermann Loew, Loew, 1857 – southeastern Europe, Near East **''Bombylius fulvescens'' Christian Rudolph Wilhelm Wiedemann, Wiedemann in Johann Wilhelm Meigen, Meigen, 1820 – Palaearctic, Near East, North Africa **''Bombylius fumosus'' Léon Jean Marie Dufour, Dufour, 1832 – Spain **''Bombylius fuscus'' Johan Christian Fabricius, Fabricius, 1791 – southern Palaearctic, Near East, North Africa **''Bombylius kutshurganicus'' Paramonov, 1926 – southern Russia, Ukraine, Moldova **''Bombylius major'' Carl Linnaeus, Linnaeus, 10th edition of Systema Naturae, 1758 **''Bombylius medius'' Carl Linnaeus, Linnaeus, 10th edition of Systema Naturae, 1758 – Palaearctic, Near East, North Africa **''Bombylius minor'' Carl Linnaeus, Linnaeus, 10th edition of Systema Naturae, 1758 – Palaearctic, Near East **''Bombylius modestus'' Hermann Loew, Loew, 1873 – southern Palaearctic, Near East, North Africa **''Bombylius mus'' Jacques-Marie-Frangile Bigot, Bigot, 1862 – southern Palaearctic, Near East, North Africa **''Bombylius niveus'' Johann Wilhelm Meigen, Meigen, 1804 – southern Europe, Near East **''Bombylius nubilus'' Mikan, 1796 – central and southern Europe, Near East, North Africa **''Bombylius oceanus'' Theodor Becker, Becker, 1908 – Canary Islands **''Bombylius pallens'' Christian Rudolph Wilhelm Wiedemann, Wiedemann in Johann Wilhelm Meigen, Meigen, 1820 – Italy, Spain, Portugal **''Bombylius pardalotus'' François, 1969 – Italy, Spain **''Bombylius pintuarius'' Báez, 1983 – Canary Islands **''Bombylius posticus'' Johan Christian Fabricius, Fabricius, 1805 – Palaearctic, Near East, North Africa **''Bombylius pumilus'' Johann Wilhelm Meigen, Meigen, 1820 – southern Europe, Near East **''Bombylius semifuscus'' Johann Wilhelm Meigen, Meigen, 1820 – Palaearctic, Near East, North Africa **''Bombylius shelkovnikovi'' Paramonov, 1926 – Italy, Greece, eastern Palaearctic, Near East **''Bombylius torquatus'' Hermann Loew, Loew, 1855 – southern Europe, Near East, North Africa **''Bombylius trichurus'' Pallas, 1818 – Palaearctic, Near East **''Bombylius venosus'' Mikan, 1796 – Europe, Near East *Subgenus ''Zephyrectes'' **''Bombylius cinerarius'' Pallas & Christian Rudolph Wilhelm Wiedemann, Wiedemann, 1818 – southern Palaearctic, Near East, North Africa **''Bombylius cruciatus'' Johan Christian Fabricius, Fabricius, 1798 – southern Europe, Near East, North Africa **''Bombylius leucopygus'' Pierre-Justin-Marie Macquart, Macquart, 1846 – Spain, North Africa **''Bombylius quadrifarius'' Hermann Loew, Loew. 1855 – southeastern Europe, eastern Palaearctic, Near East

Nearctic, North American species

*''Bombylius aestivus'' *''Bombylius albicapillus'' *''Bombylius altimyia'' *''Bombylius anthophilus'' *''Bombylius anthophoroides'' *''Bombylius arizonicus'' *''Bombylius atriceps'' *''Bombylius aureus'' *''Bombylius aurifer'' *''Bombylius auriferiodes'' *''Bombylius austini'' *''Bombylius balion'' *''Bombylius ballmeri'' *''Bombylius breviabdominalis'' *''Bombylius cachinnans'' *''Bombylius cinerivus'' *''Bombylius comanche'' *''Bombylius curtirhynchus'' *''Bombylius diegoensis'' *''Bombylius duncani'' *''Bombylius eboreus'' *''Bombylius facialis'' *''Bombylius fascipennis'' *''Bombylius flavifacies'' *''Bombylius flavipilosa'' *''Bombylius fraudulentus'' *''Bombylius frommerorum'' *''Bombylius fulvibasoides'' *''Bombylius helvus'' *''Bombylius heximaculatus'' *''Bombylius incanus'' *''Bombylius japygus'' *''Bombylius kanabensis'' *''Bombylius lancifer'' *''Bombylius lassenensis'' *''Bombylius macfarlandi'' *''Bombylius medorae'' *''Bombylius metopium'' *''Bombylius mexicanus'' *''Bombylius mohavensis'' *''Bombylius montanus'' *''Bombylius nevadensis'' *''Bombylius nicholsonae'' *''Bombylius nigriventris'' *''Bombylius painteri'' *''Bombylius pendens'' *''Bombylius phlogmodes'' *''Bombylius plichtai'' *''Bombylius pygmaeus'

*''Bombylius quirinus'' *''Bombylius ravus'' *''Bombylius silvus'' *''Bombylius sylphae'' *''Bombylius texanus'' *''Bombylius validus'' *''Bombylius varius'' *''Bombylius washingtoniensis'' *''Bombylius xanthothrix'' *''Bombylius zapataensis'' *''Bombylius zircon''

Species worldwide

* List of Bombylius species

References

External links

Fauna Europaea
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2909758 Bombyliidae genera Bombyliidae Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus