Bombyliidae (Bee Flies)

Quick Genera Links
Aleucosia Anthrax Comptosia Dissodesma Docidomyia Exechohypopion Geron Marmasoma Meomyia Sisyromyia Staurostichus Villa [Pending ID – Villini]

Subfamily Anthracinae
Contains beeflies with a globular head, the eyes have a medial bisecting line, and usually abdomen flattened and banded (not banded in Tasmanian Anthracini).
Tribe Anthracini
Genus Anthrax
Anthrax maculatus Anthrax maculatus Anthrax maculatus

Tribe Villini
Genus Exechohypopion
Exechohypopion minus Exechohypopion minus

Genus Villa
Villa fuscicostata Villa fuscicostata Villa vitrea

Pending ID – Tribe Villini
Tribe Villini Tribe Villini Tribe Villini

Subfamily Bombyliinae
The flies in this subfamily are probably responsible for the adoption of “bee-fies”. They are usually compact, well rounded, densely furry flies that are often seen hovering above flowers while they feed on the nectar with their long proboscis.
Genus Dissodesma
Dissodesma binghi Dissodesma binghi

Genus Meomyia
Meomyia fasciculata Meomyia fasciculata Meomyia fasciculata

Genus Sisyromyia
Sisyromia aurata Bombyliinae Sisyromia aurata

Genus Staurostichus
Staurostichus sp. Staurostichus sp. Staurostichus sp.

Subfamily Ecliminae
Ecliminae includes beeflies typically with unusually elongate abdomen and ‘shaggy’ hairing.
Genus Marmasoma
Marmasoma sumptuosum (Ecliminae) Marmasoma sumptuosum (Ecliminae)

Subfamily Lomatiinae
The beeflies in this subfamily are never densely furry. The vein loop at the end of the wing is very pronounced.
Genus Aleucosia
Aleucosia atherix Aleucosia atherix Aleucosia calophthalma

Genus Comptosia
Comptosia ocellata Comptosia ocellata

Subfamily Tomomyzinae
For Australia, only a single Tomomyzinae genus, Docidomyia, with 15 described species. From these only one species is also found in Tasmania, D. puellaris.

Genus Docidomyia
Docidomyia puellaris (Tomomyzinae) Docidomyia puellaris (Tomomyzinae)

Subfamily Toxophorinae
Only a couple of Geron species are known for Tasmania from this subfamily.

Genus Geron
Geron (Plichtamyia) dispar (Toxophorinae) Geron (Plichtamyia) sp. #1 (Toxophorinae)

References
Evenhuis, N. L. 1979. Studies in Pacific Bombyliidae (Diptera). II. Revision of the genus Geron of Australia and the Pacific. Pacific Insects 21: 13-55.

Evenhuis, N. L. 2012. Family Bombylidae. In: Evenhuis, NL (ed.), Catalog of the Diptera of the Australasian and Oceanian Regions. (online version). Available at: http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/aocat/bombyliidae.html. Last accessed: 16 January 2012.

Roberts, F. H. S. 1928. A revision of the Australian Bombyliidae (Diptera). II. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 53: 413-455.

White, A. 1916. The Diptera-Brachycera of Tasmania. Part III. Families Asilidae, Bombylidae, Empidae, Dolichopodidae, & Phoridae. Papers & Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania 1916: 148-266.

Yeates, D. K. 1991. Revision of the Australian bee fly genus Aleucosia Edwards (Diptera: Bombyliidae). Invertebrate Taxonomy 5: 133-209.

Yeates, D. K. 1991. Revision of the Australian bee fly genus Comptosia (Diptera: Bombyliidae). Invertebrate Taxonomy 5: 1023-178.

Yeates, D. K. 1996. Revision of the genus Docidomyia White (Diptera: Bombyliidae). Invertebrate Taxonomy 10: 407-31.