Anthracite bee-fly
The anthracite bee-fly is a black fly with white spots on its body and wings that are mostly black. It hovers in the air in front of bee hotels. It is not looking for a room, it is looking for mason bee nests to lay its eggs in.
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Fun facts
The female hovers in front of a bee nest and flicks her eggs into the entrance, like tiny shots.
Before that she rubs her body in dust or sand, which makes her eggs less sticky. She even has a special pocket for the sand.
Many bee-flies look like bees, but this one does not. It is black with white spots.
It was first found breeding in Britain in 2019.
Most asked questions about Anthracite bee-fly
?Does the anthracite bee-fly sting?
No. It is a fly and has no stinger.
?Why does it hang around bee hotels?
It lays its eggs at mason bee nests. Its larvae then feed on the bee larvae inside.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Anthrax anthrax
- Group
- Flies and mosquitoes
- Family
- Bombyliidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Diptera > Bombyliidae
- Lives on
- Europe, Asia, Africa
Where the facts come from
- Anthrax anthrax (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Sarefo. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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