| Insects of Townsville, Australia - Graeme Cocks |
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Bombyliidae |
Bee Flies. A large family of stoutly built flies. Adults are often wooly and have a strong hovering flight. Wing venation is distinctive with veins R2+3 and R4 curved towards the costa, meeting it at right angles [see picture]. Females have the extraordinary habit of gathering sand grains in a special chamber at the apex of the abdomen, probably to cover the eggs. Larvae are mostly predatory or endoparasites. [391 Aust. species] |
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| filename: gvc1374 | filename: gvc1246 | filename: gvc0618 | filename: gvc3211 |
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References:
Insects of Australia (Chapter 39: Diptera)
D.H. Colless and D.K. McAlpine
CSIRO, Division of Entomology
1137pp (2 volumes), Melbourne University Press, 2nd Edition 1999.
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