bee fly
nounEtymology From bee + fly. Compare Icelandic býfluga.
1
Any of the flies in the family Bombyliidae, with adults that look like bumblebees and larvae that are parasitic on the eggs or larvae of other insects.
- Bee flies are a group of flies that look like bees, presumably to avoid being eaten by birds, who know that bees sting. The Nightking bee fly is known only from a small area in Western Australia, is around 1 cm long and can only be found during winter.2019 July 1, “A Game of Flies: naming 230 new species”, in CSIRO:
- “Xuankun Li, who named the bee fly Paramonovius nightking, is a PhD student at CSIRO and a huge fan of ‘Game of Thrones,’ proving that inspiration for new species names can come from anywhere,” entomologist Dr. Bryan Lessard said in a statement.2019 July 1, Lauren M. Johnson, “New species of bee fly named after ‘Game of Thrones’ character”, in CNN: