Comptosia Bee Fly - Comptosia sp.
Family Bombyliidae
This page contains pictures and information about Comptosia Bee Flies that we found in
the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
- Body length 20mm, 16mm
- This fly is large with black grey thorax. Its abdomen is shiny-black with a ring between thorax and abdomen. There are some white patterns at the end of its abdomen. They are quite common in Brisbane bush.
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- We noticed that this fly likes to rest on the ground, either on soil or on plant materials.
- This Bee Fly is common in Alexandra Hill. They are usually found resting on the sandy ground of the Eucalyptus Forest. When disturbed, they slowly fly away to another spot and rest few meters away.
- Another pair
Bee Flies' Courtship
- We sometimes see two Bee Flies flying together, one larger and one smaller. The larger Bee fly chases the smaller one. When the smaller Bee Fly rests, the larger rests a few cm away. When the smaller Bee Fly flies, the larger follows closely.
- In the insects world, usually the females are larger in size. When courtship, usually the males chases the females. In this case, since the larger follows the smaller, we cannot tell which is the male and which is the female.
- The larger one The smaller one
