A black bee fly has been seen for the firs time in the UK in a garden in Cambridgehshire.
Buglife member, Rob Mills, has photographed a Black Bee-fly, never before seen in Britain sitting on a bee hotel in his garden near Cambridge.
The scientific name Anthrax anthrax translates as black black.
Alan Stubbs, Buglife vice-president, said: “Now, one Black bee-fly has been seen and photographed in Britain, it may prove to be among a growing number of insects which are establishing themselves in response to a warmer climate.
“Buglife will welcome reports of this bee-fly, with accompanying photo if possible, so that its spread can be monitored, please send to info@buglife.org.uk .”
The body of this insect is black, as are the wings apart from a clear zone at the apex and around the hind margin.
Unlike the bee-flies seen in gardens in the spring, it does not have a long proboscis but it still has the characteristic delta-wing pose when at rest.
In the 1880s the Black bee-fly was reputedly found in Leicestershire but this has been considered a likely mix-up in labelling with specimens taken elsewhere in Europe.
The bee-fly larvae live in the nest cells of mason and leaf-cutter bees, just the sort of bees which benefit from bee hotels.
The growing popularity of bee hotels in parts of Western Europe has enabled this bee-fly to become more frequent.
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