Funtime PL2360 Flying Bee

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Species lists [ edit ] A 4mm long female of Lepidanthrax in Cuyama Valley, California, showing the proportionally shorter wings and relatively larger head occurring in many of the smaller species in the family Muscles in the thorax of the bee cause the wings to be able to move very fast. Honey bees can flap their wings up to 230 times per second. B. major is part of the family Bombyliidae, with a reported 6000 species worldwide. [2] The subfamily Bombyliinae contains approximately 1100 identifiedspecies. [5] The genus Bombylius currently comprises around 450 described species. [2] Exoprosopa caliptera in Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado, US - note the silvery mirror stripes formed by patches of specialized hairs modified into reflecting scales

Wiegmann, Brian M.; Yeates, David K. (29 November 2007). "Diptera True Flies". Tree of Life . Retrieved 25 May 2016. Downes, William L. Jr.; Dahlem, Gregory A. (1987). "Keys to the Evolution of Diptera: Role of Homoptera". Environmental Entomology. 16 (4): 847–854. doi: 10.1093/ee/16.4.847. Flies play a variety of symbolic roles in different cultures. These include both positive and negative roles in religion. In the traditional Navajo religion, Big Fly is an important spirit being. [87] [88] [89] In Christian demonology, Beelzebub is a demonic fly, the "Lord of the Flies", and a god of the Philistines. [90] [91] [92]

What are bee-flies?

Sourakov, Andrei (2011). "Faster than a flash: The fastest visual startle reflex response is found in a long-legged fly, Condylostylus sp. (Dolichopodidae)". Florida Entomologist. 94 (2): 367–369. doi: 10.1653/024.094.0240. S2CID 86502767. Flies are eaten by other animals at all stages of their development. The eggs and larvae are parasitised by other insects and are eaten by many creatures, some of which specialise in feeding on flies but most of which consume them as part of a mixed diet. Birds, bats, frogs, lizards, dragonflies and spiders are among the predators of flies. [79] Many flies have evolved mimetic resemblances that aid their protection. Batesian mimicry is widespread with many hoverflies resembling bees and wasps, [80] [81] ants [82] and some species of tephritid fruit fly resembling spiders. [83] Some species of hoverfly are myrmecophilous—their young live and grow within the nests of ants. They are protected from the ants by imitating chemical odours given by ant colony members. [84] Bombyliid bee flies such as Bombylius major are short-bodied, round, furry, and distinctly bee-like as they visit flowers for nectar, and are likely also Batesian mimics of bees. [85] The abdomen and thorax hardly ever have large glossy areas formed by exposed cuticle (hoverflies often have glossy cuticular body surfaces). Ssymank, Axel; Kearns, C. A.; Pape, Thomas; Thompson, F. Christian (1 April 2008). "Pollinating Flies (Diptera): A major contribution to plant diversity and agricultural production". Biodiversity. 9 (1–2): 86–89. doi: 10.1080/14888386.2008.9712892. S2CID 39619017.

a b Layer, Stefan (2013-06-25). "Unusual Flight Behaviour in the Beefly Bombylius major (Diptera: Bombylidae)". Entomologia Generalis. 34 (3): 161–168. doi: 10.1127/entom.gen/34/2013/161. ISSN 0171-8177.

Power pollinators 

Numerous studies have shown that Bees are very capable at predicting the weather, sometimes even more so than us humans. Not only can they detect when a storm is coming, they also seem to be able to gauge the severity as well. Chapman, R. F. (1998). The Insects; Structure & Function. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-57890-5. Why are insects not allowed in animal feed?" (PDF). All About Feed. August 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 August 2016 . Retrieved 24 May 2016. Thompson, F. Christian. "Sources for the Biosystematic Database of World Diptera (Flies)" (PDF). United States Department of Agriculture, Systematic Entomology Laboratory. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 September 2015.

a b Schiner, I.R. (1868). Diptera. vi In [Wullerstorf-Urbair, B. von (in charge)], Reise der osterreichischen Fregatte Novara. Zool. 2(1)B. Wien: K. Gerold's Sohn. pp.388pp., 4 pls.Flies tend to fly in a straight line then make a rapid change in direction before continuing on a different straight path. The directional changes are called saccades and typically involve an angle of 90°, being achieved in 50 milliseconds. They are initiated by visual stimuli as the fly observes an object, nerves then activate steering muscles in the thorax that cause a small change in wing stroke which generate sufficient torque to turn. Detecting this within four or five wingbeats, the halteres trigger a counter-turn and the fly heads off in a new direction. [50] Answers to some frequently asked questions about what happens when an Asian Hornet nest is found. Updated 18th October 2023. Wiegmann, Brian; Yeates, David K. (2012). The Evolutionary Biology of Flies. Columbia University Press. pp.4–6. ISBN 978-0-231-50170-5. Hull, F.M. 1973. Bee flies of the world. The genera of the family Bombyliidae.Washington (Smithsonian Institution Press) 687 pp. Keys subfamilies, genera (many generic placements superseded by Evenhuis & Greathead, 1999).