Bumblebee forest hover fly
| Bumblebee forest hover fly | ||||||||||||
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Bumblebee forest hover fly ( Volucella bombylans ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Volucella bombylans | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
The bumblebee forest hover fly ( Volucella bombylans ) is a fly from the family of hover flies (Syrphidae).
features
The bumblebee forest hover fly reaches a body length of 11 to 15 millimeters. They imitate the appearance of bumblebees (mimicry) with their long hair and the arched abdomen . The face of the animals protrudes clearly forwards and is predominantly or entirely yellow in color. The antennae are relatively long and dark at the base, otherwise red-yellow in color. The third link is three times as long as it is wide. The forehead is colored red-yellow in the females. The color of the body hair is very variable. The black colored thorax can be hairy yellow, black or red. The mesonotum has black or yellow hair on the sides, the label is brownish or yellow in color. The vane cell R1 is closed, R5 has a long stem. The abdomen is yellow at the base, black in the middle and dense and long light haired at the end. The base can also be black, and the rest of the abdomen can be red-haired. The legs are black.
Occurrence
The animals occur in Europe east over Central Asia to Siberia and also in North America . They are common in Central Europe in some places, especially at higher altitudes. They live on the edges and clearings of forests, but also on meadows and other open areas.
Way of life
The imagines flying to Nektarsuche example Giersch , Marsh , thistles , raspberries or privet , but prefer blue flowers. The animals are usually found sitting on leaves instead of flowers. The species flies in two generations from late May to July and August, with the population being highest in June. The larvae develop in the nests of bumblebees and wasps and feed on waste and dead brood, but presumably also predatory. The females use their camouflage to get into the nest to lay eggs. However, the flies are usually killed anyway if the nest is not unobserved. However, the fly usually still manages to lay its eggs unnoticed during a fight. The newly hatched larvae immediately withdraw into the interior of the bumblebee nest, where they can eat undisturbed. The overwintering takes place in the larval stage, the animals pupate in spring.
Surname
volucella Diminutive of (Latin) volucris ( volucer ): "the little (hasty) flyer"; bombylans (made-up word) from (Greek) bombylios "bumblebee", bombein "hum", with Latin participle ending, ie "humming".
supporting documents
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Joachim Haupt, Hiroko Haupt: Flies and mosquitoes. Observation, way of life . 1st edition. Naturbuch-Verlag, Jena and Stuttgart 1995, ISBN 3-89440-278-4 .
- ↑ a b c d Bumblebee forest hover fly - Volucella bombylans (LINNAEUS, 1758). Nature in NRW, accessed on December 30, 2007 .
- ↑ Gerald Bothe: Hoverflies. German Youth Association for Nature Observation, Hamburg 1996.
- ↑ Dave Goulson: And It Flies: A Brief History of the Bumblebee . Hanser, Munich 2014, ISBN 978-3-446-44039-5 , pp. 184 .
literature
- Gerald Bothe: Hoverflies. German Youth Association for Nature Observation, Hamburg 1996.
- Joachim Haupt, Hiroko Haupt: Flies and Mosquitoes. Observation, way of life . 1st edition. Naturbuch-Verlag, Jena and Stuttgart 1995, ISBN 3-89440-278-4 .
