Cutest parasite around ! Bombylius hoverflies shoot their eggs into the nests of (mostly) mining bees (Andrena), their larvae eat the bee larvae and the pollen stash. The adults are very cute and fluffy and lovely with beautiful wings, last post i reblogged reminded me of them. Like an opposite of the big mean looking guy only kills to feed their offspring - this is sweet fluffy guy deposits eggs in other guys' nests so their offspring can eat them.

Bumble bee hover fly, Volucella bombylans, Syrphidae

Found throughout the Palearctic and Nearctic realms

Btw, everyone, when you see "flowerfly", the flowerflies are a group pf hover flies that feed at flowers, and the term can be used interchangeably with hoverfly for some species.

HOVERFLIES! (family Syrphidae)

Band-eyed Dronefly (Eristalinus taeniops), Portugal

photograph by Alves Gaspar 

Marmalade Hoverfly or Marmalade Flowerfly (Episyrphus balteatus), family Syrphidae, Portugal

photograph by Alves Gaspar 

Marmalade Hoverfly, feeding on Valerian, Switzerland

photograph by Charles J. Sharp 

Pied Hoverfly or Pied Flowerfly (Scaeva pyrastri), feeding on Chicory, Denmark

photograph by Pudding4brains 

Tropical Plushback (Palpada vinetorum), feeding on smartweed, Oklahoma, USA

photograph by xpda

Eastern Calligrapher (Toxomerus geminatus), GA, USA

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TODAY'S FACT IS

Did you know that Microdon Mutabilis is a species of hoverfly in Western Europe? Its range needs to be reassessed after the discovery of a very similar species in the same area in 2002. These flies lay a handful of eggs at the entrance to an ant hill. The ants (usually) accept the eggs and raise them even though the fly larvae look more like slugs than ant larvae. The fly larvae will eat the larvae and pupae of their hosts for about a year before they pupate themselves. The adult emerges, mates, and goes to a new ant hill. These myrmecophiles can detect specific chemical compounds emitted by the ants to find a new home for their youth.

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