Bee Fly

About the Bee Fly

Bee flies are the teddy bears of the fly world - round, furry, and hovering at flowers on wings that never seem to stop, with a long rigid proboscis held straight out in front like a jousting lance. The resemblance to a small bee is no accident: looking stingy is good protection for a fly that cannot sting at all.

Watch one work a patch of spring wildflowers and the hummingbird comparison is irresistible. Bee flies hover with extraordinary precision, sipping nectar without ever landing, darting sideways and back, and basking on bare sunny ground between rounds.

Their hidden life is much darker. Many bee fly species are parasites of ground-nesting bees: the female hovers over a bee's burrow and flicks her eggs at the entrance, and her larvae crawl in to consume the bee's provisions - and often the bee grub itself.

Texas hosts a big diversity of these flies, from tiny dark species to big golden ones. They are harmless to people, wonderful for close-up photography on a sunny trail, and a reminder that even the flies repay a second look.