Beefly Bombylius major

The Beefly, also called Bee Fly/Bee-fly, is a large, furry fly, a bumblebee-mimic. Although it hovers to defend territory and reach flowers, it is not closely related to Hoverflies. Left above is a male with big eyes close together on the top of his head; right above is a female with eyes separated on top of her head.

The vicious-looking proboscis is for sucking nectar out of flowers. The fly does not sting or bite and is harmless to humans. It does, however, have a dark side: the bee-mimicry lets it get near enough to nesting holes of solitary bees and wasps and it uses the proboscis to flick its eggs into the nest; its larva eats the food left for the host larva and may eat the host larva also.

Also called the Greater Beefly and the Dark-edged Beefly to distinguish from other UK and worldwide Beefly species.

Like the hoverflies, the male Beefly will hover to guard his territory from other males and to look out for passing females