Dark-edged Bee-fly

• It is a kleptoparasite: in mid-flight it flicks its eggs towards the entrances of solitary bee nests, and the larvae that hatch devour the provisions and the bee's own larva.
• Its proboscis is rigid and cannot be folded away, so it carries it out in front like a lance, although it is completely harmless and does not sting.
• Its hovering flight, with the legs dangling and the wings almost invisible, is one of the most recognisable sights of early spring.
• It looks like a furry bumblebee but is a fly, and its long rigid proboscis, always held stretched out in front, gives it away: it does not sting, it only sips nectar.
• It hovers in front of the flower, legs dangling, and drinks without ever quite landing.
• Its larva is a parasite of the nests of solitary bees, and the female has a remarkable method for reaching them: she hovers over the nest entrance and flicks her eggs in mid-flight, like someone throwing darts, without landing.
• To do so she first gathers sand or dust in a chamber of her abdomen and coats the eggs with it, giving them weight so that the throw is accurate and the wind does not carry them off.
• The newly hatched larva enters the cell and devours the bee larva and its provisions.
• It is one of the first insects to be seen flying in spring, and an important pollinator of early flowers.

Skeleton type

Invertebrate - chitin exoskeleton (insect)

Habitat & environment

Forest edges, gardens and sunny banks with solitary bee nests

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombylius_major

Best time: From March to May, on the first flowers of the year