hovers in front of the sunny flowers
- Size
- Length: 1–2 cm
- Lifespan
- 1–2 years
- Diet
- Adults feed on nectar from flowers using long, stiff proboscis. Larvae are parasitoids that feed on eggs and larvae of solitary bees and wasps.
- Habitat
- Sunny gardens, open grasslands, coastal dunes and forest margins. The fuzzy hoverers of the flower patch, often seen hovering in front of flowers while feeding with long proboscis.
- Range
- Throughout North and South Islands in sunny gardens, open grasslands and coastal dunes. Most common in warmer, lowland areas with abundant flowering plants.
- Endemism
- Endemic
- Main Threats
- Habitat loss from urban development and intensive agriculture. Sensitive to pesticide use which kills their host bee and wasp species, reducing breeding success.
- Population
- Common in spring and summer. Easily recognised by their long, stiff beak and their incredibly hairy, bee-like bodies.
- Conservation Status
- Not Threatened
- Human Risk
- harmless
- Handling Note
- native bee fly, mimicry of bees leaves undisturbed
- Conservation Note
- Endemic fly; not assessed by NZTCS as invertebrates are generally outside the scope of current threat classifications.
- Te Ao Māori
- The Bee Fly has no recorded Māori name. It represents the principle of soft deception. It serves as a symbol of imitative survival within the modern natural heritage of New Zealand. Known as the hummingbirds of the hearth, they occupy a cultural space as the gentle imposters of the insect world. A bee might actually be a very clever fly equipped with a gift for hovering and a very long straw.
It is not a bee. The bee fly is the gentle mimic of the New Zealand garden. A biological masterstroke of evolution that has traded the typical appearance of a fly for the fuzzy, golden aesthetic of a bumblebee. This sophisticated form of Batesian mimicry provides the insect with a layer of psychological protection. As potential predators such as birds or spiders often avoid them out of a misplaced fear of a non-existent sting.
Despite their robust and somewhat intimidating appearance, bee flies are entirely harmless to humans. Possessing neither a stinger nor the biting mouthparts found in their more aggressive relatives. Their most striking feature is an exceptionally long, needle-like proboscis. Which they use as a specialised drinking straw to siphon nectar from deep-throated flowers.
Like a miniature hummingbird, they are capable of hovering in a stationary position mid-air with incredible precision. Their wings beating so rapidly they become a translucent blur. While their adult lives are spent in sun-drenched meadows, their reproductive strategy is far more calculated and clandestine.
Often referred to as the bombers of the insect world, female bee flies exhibit a remarkable predatory behaviour known as oviposition on the wing. They hover over the entrance holes of ground-nesting solitary bees. Waiting for a moment of vulnerability before using a sudden, sharp twitch of their abdomen to flick their eggs directly into the burrow.
The resulting larvae then act as parasitoids. Consuming the pollen stores and occasionally the offspring of the host bee. This life cycle represents a state of visual deception. Proving that looking tough is frequently half the battle for survival.
Not threatened, the bee fly remains a definitive sign of the sunny meadow and a healthy, flower-rich ecosystem. They play a vital role as pollinators. Moving rapidly between various native and introduced floral species. To observe a bee fly suspended perfectly in front of a blossom is to witness a survivor that has mastered the art of imitative survival.
It carries on.