@uk-soldierflies
Soldierflies, Horseflies, Robberflies, Bee-flies, Snipeflies, Stiletto-flies, Hunchback-flies, Water-snipeflies, Awl-flies, Windowflies and Wood-soldierflies - info & ID guides: https://dipterists.org.uk/soldierflies-allies-scheme/home
Dark-edged Bee-fly, male. I do love these cheeky chaps - they whizz around with their probosis sticking out and snacking on the spring flowers, the females lay their eggs in solitary bee so nests. 5/3/26 N Cotswolds garden #beeflywatch
Soldierfly Quiz! 📝
Can you name these four UK species?
Soldierflies are bold, metallic flower visitors with fascinating life histories.
Want to learn how to identify them? 🧪
Join our #entoLEARN on 16 Apr:
🔗 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1976906539...
@kitenet.bsky.social @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social
2 male Dark-edged Bee-flys in my N Cotswolds garden today. #beeflywatch
#Bombyliusmajor
The 1st #BeeFlyWatch record in England this year was on 25 February, and we now have the 1st in Scotland on 3 March (@ellenwilson.bsky.social) and in Wales on 4 March (@liamolds.bsky.social) - Ellen's bee-fly is the earliest ever recorded in Scotland, by almost two weeks bsky.app/profile/liam...
♂️ Violet Oil Beetle (Meloe violaceus) and ♂️ Dark-edged Bee-fly (Bombylius major) at Brynna Woods & Llanharan Marsh Nature Reserve today - both firsts of the year for me 😁
A fair few solitary bees and bumblebees around too, plus Brimstone butterflies. Spring is here!
More info and images from Steven Falk here www.flickr.com/photos/63075...
For added excitement while looking for bee-flies, check your local daffodil patches for the Daffodil Dung-fly, a spiny-legged fly that is in the dung-fly family but has nothing to do with 💩
1st Bombylius major of the year, 4 days earlier than last year, 04/03/26, Tamworth, #Staffs, and its a Male! @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social #beeflywatch @kitenet.bsky.social @dipteristsforum.bsky.social #beefly
UK map showing overall distribution of Dark-edged Bee-fly (pale grey dots) and records so far for 2026 (black dots)
A very freshly emerged male Dark-edged Bee-fly, photo by Allan Burrows in Hertfordshire
Several more bee-flies seen today - hurray 😍 So far we have records for Surrey, Beds, Bucks, Kent, Herts, Middlesex and Guernsey. Where will they appear next? Please enjoy looking out for them and send in your sightings for #BeeFlyWatch - 📸 of the Herts bee-fly by @allanburrows.bsky.social
We're celebrating 50 years of the Soldierflies and Allies Recording Scheme this year, and will be taking part in the NFBR 40th anniversary conference - join us in Birmingham in May 🎉🍾
#BeeFlyWatch, also known as #LongSnozzedFloofWatch 😄
Dark-edged or Dotted? 🐝
Is it Bombylius major or Bombylius discolor? Learn how to tell them apart by wing patterns, habitat & behaviour 🌍 🧪
Join our #entoLEARN webinar on 25 Mar 2026:
🔗 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1976745510...
@uk-soldierflies.bsky.social @tonymadgwick.bsky.social
My bad - it was actually 25th Feb not 26th
Blossoms are starting to appear now it's nearly March - time to spot your first Dark-edged Bee-fly. Find out more about bee-flies in our new #FliesofBritainandIreland - out now!!! bit.ly/4dqQI8Z @flygirlnhm.bsky.social @gailashton.bsky.social @georgemcgavin.bsky.social @dipteristsforum.bsky.social
Could be! There some other flies (and other insects) that could be candidates as well.
@uk-soldierflies.bsky.social
Just found this photo. Can't see anything against
Male Chloromyia formosa
Wings brownish, pale hairs on scutum, eye hairs and leg colour.
8 July 2010
Builth Wells, Wales, LD2 3BE
A Dark-edged Bee-fly sat on a leaf, basking in sunshine - library photo by @kitenet.bsky.social
Bee-flies are go! A 1st #BeeFlyWatch record for 2026 is in, from east Surrey on 26 Feb. Look out for more during warm & sunny spells over coming weeks, & please send in sightings, via iRecord if possible. Full details on the @dipteristsforum.bsky.social website: dipterists.org.uk/bee-fly-watch
Bee… or not a bee? 🐝🪰
Meet the Dark-edged Bee-fly. Discover how to spot UK bee-flies and learn about their remarkable (and surprising) life histories in our entoLEARN webinar, on 25 Mar 2026. 🌍 🧪
👉 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1976745510...
@uk-soldierflies.bsky.social @tonymadgwick.bsky.social
🪰 Meet the Oxycera soldierflies!
Small, coloured, and tied to clean streams & wetlands, these tiny flies are amazing habitat indicators.
Join @kitenet.bsky.social for our Soldierflies entoLEARN on 16 April 🧪🌎
🔗 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1976906539...
@uk-soldierflies.bsky.social @ukceh.bsky.social
SAVE £8 on our new guide to #FliesofBritainandIreland – to be delivered to our office mid-Feb 2026 – pre-pub offer extended to 14 Feb 2026 bit.ly/4dqQI8Z @rdimond.bsky.social @flygirlnhm.bsky.social @gailashton.bsky.social @dipteristsforum.bsky.social @the-wildlifetrusts.bsky.social
🪰 Bee-fly Quiz!
Can you identify these bee-fly species from the images? Put your guesses in the comments 👇
Want to learn how to ID them with confidence? Join our bee-fly webinar on 25th March.
Book here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1976745510...
@uk-soldierflies.bsky.social @tonymadgwick.bsky.social
Leptogaster cylindrica robberfly, what a lovely delicate fly! Seen at #RSPBMiddletonLakes, 15/06/25 @dipteristsforum.bsky.social @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social #Diptera
Meet the soldierflies 🪰
Bold, beautiful and surprisingly diverse, UK soldierflies are more than meets the eye. Join @kitenet.bsky.social on 16 Apr for a webinar exploring how to recognise them and understand their life histories.
🔗 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1976906539...
@uk-soldierflies.bsky.social
Here is Bombylius major at Oxshott, keeping the engines running after she lands to load up with sand.
Also Bombylius major, dropping eggs at a solitary bees burrow. Watch carefully and a small bee face appears as though to say “Oi, what the 🤬”.
I don’t know if bees can actually pick up and remove eggs if they are vigilant?
Day 19 of #InsectAdvent
Santa has a sac full of presents, so does Villa cingulata but hers is full of sand. Her sac is at the end of her abdomen & here she is twerking to get the sand to coat her eggs (on exit) to prevent desiccation - cool mum 😎
@royentsoc.bsky.social @dipterists.bsky.social
Agree that it could be cingulatus, but can't quite see any of the features needed to be certain!
Tufa springs on coal tips 💦
These rare micro-habitats form where water passing through coal spoil picks up calcium - likely from ancient marine bands - and deposits it at the surface. Unusual in the acidic Valleys, and vital for specialist wildlife like soldierflies.
#GloiNatur #CoaltoNature
Bee-flies mimic solitary bees with their furry bodies, long proboscis & darting flight 🪰
Join Dr @tonymadgwick.bsky.social on 25 Mar 2026 for an entoLEARN covering all 9 UK species, their ecology & how to record them with Bee-fly Watch. 🧪
Book your space now: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1976745510...
Discover 48 UK soldierflies: boldly patterned spring–summer flower visitors, with larvae recycling nutrients in wetlands, woodland & gardens. Join @kitenet.bsky.social on 16 Apr 2026 for a talk on their ID, ecology & standout species www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1976906539...
@uk-soldierflies.bsky.social
