Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods) ➔ Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods) ➔ Class Insecta (Insects) ➔ Order Diptera (True flies) ➔ Family Syrphidae (Hoverflies)

Volucella bombylans (Linnaeus, 1758)

Hummel-Waldschwebfliege Bumblebee Hoverfly

Synonyms and other combinations: ∇
  • Volucella bombylans plumata, female 462
    Volucella bombylans (Linnaeus, 1758)  Hummel-Waldschwebfliege  Bumblebee Hoverfly 
    Volucella bombylans plumata, female
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald; 2009-05-31 10:23:08
    Image number: 462
    female
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald
    2009-05-31 10:23:08
  • Volucella bombylans plumata, female 463
    Volucella bombylans (Linnaeus, 1758)  Hummel-Waldschwebfliege  Bumblebee Hoverfly 
    Volucella bombylans plumata, female
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald; 2009-06-07 11:32:19
    Image number: 463
    female
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald
    2009-06-07 11:32:19
  • Volucella bombylans plumata, female 464
    Volucella bombylans (Linnaeus, 1758)  Hummel-Waldschwebfliege  Bumblebee Hoverfly 
    Volucella bombylans plumata, female
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald; 2009-05-31 10:22:16
    Image number: 464
    female
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald
    2009-05-31 10:22:16
  • Volucella bombylans plumata, female 476
    Volucella bombylans (Linnaeus, 1758)  Hummel-Waldschwebfliege  Bumblebee Hoverfly 
    Volucella bombylans plumata, female
    DE, Chemnitz, Hutholz; 2005-05-29 10:06:05
    Image number: 476
    female
    DE, Chemnitz, Hutholz
    2005-05-29 10:06:05
  • Volucella bombylans plumata, female 477
    Volucella bombylans (Linnaeus, 1758)  Hummel-Waldschwebfliege  Bumblebee Hoverfly 
    Volucella bombylans plumata, female
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald; 2005-06-04 13:32:09
    Image number: 477
    female
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald
    2005-06-04 13:32:09
  • Volucella bombylans, female 9410
    Volucella bombylans (Linnaeus, 1758)  Hummel-Waldschwebfliege  Bumblebee Hoverfly 
    Volucella bombylans, female
    DE, Chemnitz, Stadtpark; 2020-06-16 17:27:50
    Image number: 9410
    female
    DE, Chemnitz, Stadtpark
    2020-06-16 17:27:50
  • Volucella bombylans, female 9411
    Volucella bombylans (Linnaeus, 1758)  Hummel-Waldschwebfliege  Bumblebee Hoverfly 
    Volucella bombylans, female
    DE, Chemnitz, Stadtpark; 2020-06-16 17:28:04
    Image number: 9411
    female
    DE, Chemnitz, Stadtpark
    2020-06-16 17:28:04
  • Volucella bombylans, female 9412
    Volucella bombylans (Linnaeus, 1758)  Hummel-Waldschwebfliege  Bumblebee Hoverfly 
    Volucella bombylans, female
    DE, Chemnitz, Stadtpark; 2020-06-16 17:28:07
    Image number: 9412
    female
    DE, Chemnitz, Stadtpark
    2020-06-16 17:28:07
  • Volucella bombylans plumata, male 475
    Volucella bombylans (Linnaeus, 1758)  Hummel-Waldschwebfliege  Bumblebee Hoverfly 
    Volucella bombylans plumata, male
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald; 2005-06-04 15:24:46
    Image number: 475
    male
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald
    2005-06-04 15:24:46
  • Volucella bombylans plumata, male 479
    Volucella bombylans (Linnaeus, 1758)  Hummel-Waldschwebfliege  Bumblebee Hoverfly 
    Volucella bombylans plumata, male
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald; 2006-06-17 12:52:49
    Image number: 479
    male
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald
    2006-06-17 12:52:49
  • Volucella bombylans bombylans, male 487
    Volucella bombylans (Linnaeus, 1758)  Hummel-Waldschwebfliege  Bumblebee Hoverfly 
    Volucella bombylans bombylans, male
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald; 2007-06-17 13:56:43
    Image number: 487
    male
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald
    2007-06-17 13:56:43
  • Volucella bombylans bombylans, male 480
    Volucella bombylans (Linnaeus, 1758)  Hummel-Waldschwebfliege  Bumblebee Hoverfly 
    Volucella bombylans bombylans, male
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald; 2006-07-01 08:40:33
    Image number: 480
    male
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald
    2006-07-01 08:40:33
  • Volucella bombylans bombylans, male 485
    Volucella bombylans (Linnaeus, 1758)  Hummel-Waldschwebfliege  Bumblebee Hoverfly 
    Volucella bombylans bombylans, male
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald; 2007-06-17 13:57:05
    Image number: 485
    male
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald
    2007-06-17 13:57:05
  • Volucella bombylans bombylans, male 486
    Volucella bombylans (Linnaeus, 1758)  Hummel-Waldschwebfliege  Bumblebee Hoverfly 
    Volucella bombylans bombylans, male
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald; 2007-06-17 13:56:14
    Image number: 486
    male
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald
    2007-06-17 13:56:14
  • Volucella bombylans bombylans, female 488
    Volucella bombylans (Linnaeus, 1758)  Hummel-Waldschwebfliege  Bumblebee Hoverfly 
    Volucella bombylans bombylans, female
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald; 2007-06-10 13:24:32
    Image number: 488
    female
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald
    2007-06-10 13:24:32
  • Volucella bombylans bombylans, mating 506
    Volucella bombylans (Linnaeus, 1758)  Hummel-Waldschwebfliege  Bumblebee Hoverfly 
    Volucella bombylans bombylans, mating
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald; 2009-06-07 13:05:09
    Image number: 506
    mating
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald
    2009-06-07 13:05:09

Classification:
Volucella bombylans belongs to the subfamily Eristalinae, tribe Volucellini.
Distribution:
From northern Fennoscandia south to Iberia; from Ireland eastwards through central and southern Europe into Russia and the Caucasus and on to the Pacific coast and Japan; in North America from Alaska to Newfoundland and south to California and Georgia.
Habitat:
Forest/wetland: Open areas in humid deciduous forest and Pinus forest, forest edges, edges of fens and raised bogs; evergreen oak forest in southern Europe.
Description:
The dense and woolly hairy, bumblebee-like looking Volucella bombylans has a body length of 11 - 17 mm. The arista is plumose. The eyes are hairy. The scutellum has no long bristles near the posterior margin, in contrast to the other species of the genus occurring in Europe. Based on the hair color of the very variable species one distinguishes between different color forms. Volucella bombylans var. bombylans is mostly black and strikingly orange-red hairy at the end of the abdomen. Volucella bombylans var. plumata has a white hairy posterior part of abdomen. The anterior region of the abdomen, the yellow scutellum and the scutum (appearing dark in the middle) are long yellow hairy.
Biology:
The Bumblebee Hoverfly Volucella bombylans flies in one generation from May to September.
Adults visit the flowers of various composites and umbellifers and blooming trees.
After mating a female lays about 60 eggs. The eggs are usually deposited in the nests of various species of bumblebees (Bombus), but also in Vespula nests.
The larvae live on the bottom of the host's nest and feed on waste and dead host larvae.

References, further reading, links:
  1. Pape T. & Thompson F.C. (eds) (2017). Systema Dipterorum (version 2.0, Jan 2011). In: Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life, 2017 Annual Checklist (Roskov Y., Abucay L., Orrell T., Nicolson D., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., DeWalt R.E., Decock W., De Wever A., Nieukerken E. van, Zarucchi J., Penev L., eds.). Digital resource at www.catalogueoflife.org/annual-checklist/2017. Species 2000: Naturalis, Leiden, the Netherlands. ISSN 2405-884X.
  2. Gerald Bothe: Bestimmungsschlüssel für die Schwebfliegen (Diptera, Syrphidae) Deutschlands und der Niederlande, DJN, 1984, ISBN 3-923376-07-3
  3. M.C.D.Speight: Species Accounts of European Syrphidae (Diptera), Glasgow 2011, Syrph the Net, the database of European Syrphidae, vol. 65, 285 pp., Syrph the Net publications, Dublin.
  4. Menno Reemer, Willem Renema, Wouter van Steenis, Theo Zeegers, Aat Barendregt, John T. Smit, Mark P. van Veen, Jeroen van Steenis, Laurens van der Leij: De Nederlandse Zweefvliegen (Diptera: Syrphidae), Nederlandse Fauna 8, 2009.
  5. Speight, M.C.D. & Sarthou, J.-P. (2014) StN keys for the identification of the European species of various genera of Syrphidae (Diptera) 2014 / Clés StN pour la détermination des espèces Européennes de plusieurs genres des Syrphidae (Diptères) 2014. Syrph the Net, the database of European Syrphidae, Vol. 80, 125 pp, Syrph the Net publications, Dublin