The Large Bee Fly is a charming, fuzzy, bee-mimicking fly with a stiff, forward-pointing proboscis longer than its head and fluffy brown-yellow body hair. It hovers over spring flowers with precision, inserting its long proboscis to sip nectar while hovering. Females flick eggs at the entrances of solitary bee burrows; larvae develop as parasitoids of the bee's young.
Best time to see a Large Bee Fly
The best time to see a Large Bee Fly is April, when about 63% of U.S. sightings happen, based on 8,374 research-grade iNaturalist observations.
Not certain it is a Large Bee Fly? What bug is this? walks through what to check first and the lookalikes that catch people out.
Recent Large Bee Fly sightings near you
Live, research-grade observations from iNaturalist. Allow location to center the map on you.
Spotted a Large Bee Fly?
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