Exoprosopa
Genus of flies
Exoprosopa is a large cosmopolitan genus of flies belonging to the family Bombyliidae (bee-flies), with over 325 described species. The genus parasitizes a wide range of insects, including locust and larvae of wasps.
01Description
This genus contains the largest bee flies, of about 14 mm, sometimes larger, up to 22 mm, though a few species are as small as 6 mm. The proboscis is short. The head is large and only loosely attached to the thorax. The antenna are small and well separated. Wings are large, with wingspan 40 mm, up to 64 mm in the largest species, nearly always boldly patterned; abdomen patterned (often banded) with white or pale scales on segment 6 and 7 or on each segment. Many species are sexually dimorphic.
02Distribution
Species are found worldwide, however Southern Africa is especially species rich with over 135 species.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Exoprosopa”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Bombilidae June 2008-3.jpg by Alvesgaspar, CC BY-SA 4.0
- 1500exoprosopacaliptera DSC6698 DxO.jpg by Pdeley, CC BY-SA 4.0
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