Dark-edged bee fly (Bombylius major) rubbing the tip of her abdomen in loose, sandy soil to fill her sand chamber where eggs are coated in sand, UK.

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Common / Dark-edged bee fly (Bombylius major) rubbing the tip of her abdomen in loose, sandy soil to fill her sand chamber, where eggs are coated in sand, perhaps to improve aim and survival when dropped near host bee nests, Wiltshire field margin, April, UK.

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Size: 4554px × 3036px
Location: Wiltshire, UK
Photo credit: © Nick Upton / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: abdomen, adult, arable, bee, beeflies, behaviour, bombyliidae, bombylius, british, brown, chamber, close, common, dark-edged, diptera, england, farmland, female, flies, fly, insects, invertebrates, kingdom, major, rubbing, sand, single, soil, spring, tail, uk, united, wildlife