Bug Wiki
Bug Wiki / All bugs / Flies and mosquitoes
Sticker of Black bee fly
Bug card No. 0386 of 4,939

Black bee fly

Anthrax analis
Eats: Nectar and pollenFlies and mosquitoesGardens and meadows6 legs

The black bee fly is a fuzzy fly covered in black hair, with a shiny silver tip on its tail. Its wings are often dark at the front and clear at the back, as if half of each wing was dipped in ink. The grown-up visits flowers, but its baby has a much sneakier way of finding food.

Lives in
North America, from Canada through the United States and Mexico down to Costa Rica and Cuba
Top speed
about 8 km/h (5 mph)
Flying, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It is a fly, so it has no sting and does not bite people.
What does it eat?
The grown-up drinks from flowers and helps pollinate them. Its larva lives in the nests of tiger beetles and eats the beetle babies.
For real!Photo of Black bee fly
Picture by Judy Gallagher Depicted place: 10400-10410 Old Colchester Rd, Lorton, VA 22079, USA ( 38°40′31″N 77°13′36″W  /  38.6751996°N 77.2267367°W  / 38.6751996; -77.. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

The mother lays her tiny eggs on the ground right next to tiger beetle nests, so her babies have food close by.

2

Females are often seen hovering in front of the holes of tiger beetle nests.

3

In the eastern United States some black bee flies have wings that are dark all over.

4

It looks a lot like several other bee flies, so it can be tricky to tell them apart.

5

Its eggs are tiny and oval, and their colour helps them blend in with the ground.

you asked

Most asked questions about Black bee fly

?Does the black bee fly sting?

No. It is a fly, not a bee, and has no sting.

?What does the black bee fly eat?

Grown-ups visit flowers. The larvae eat the babies of tiger beetles in their nests.

?Where does the black bee fly live?

In North America, from Canada to Mexico, and as far south as Costa Rica and Cuba.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Anthrax analis
Group
Flies and mosquitoes
Family
Bombyliidae
Classification
Insecta > Diptera > Bombyliidae
Lives on
North America

Where the facts come from

  1. Anthrax analis (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Judy Gallagher Depicted place: 10400-10410 Old Colchester Rd, Lorton, VA 22079, USA ( 38°40′31″N 77°13′36″W  /  38.6751996°N 77.2267367°W  / 38.6751996; -77.. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

Bug Wiki honey jar For grown-ups: Bug Wiki is free, with no ads and no tracking. A small tip helps keep it online.Leave a tip

More from the same group: Flies and mosquitoes

HouseflyFlies and mosquitoesNew World screwworm flyFlies and mosquitoesLovebugFlies and mosquitoesTsetse flyFlies and mosquitoesCommon fruit flyFlies and mosquitoesAsian tiger mosquitoFlies and mosquitoes

Also at home here: Gardens and meadows

Orange-legged furrow beeBees and bumblebeesWestern thatching antAntsTobacco budworm mothMothsDraparnaud's glass snailSnails, slugs and wormsLong-necked seed bugTrue bugs and cicadasSpotted wolf spiderSpiders
Honey jarfor grown-ups