Bee Fly
Dorsal
Ellura
Black Bee Fly
 
                      
Gigantic Balaana Bee Fly (Balaana gigantea)Class: Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta)
Order: Flies (Diptera)
Family: Bee Fly (Bombyliidae)     iNaturalist Observation
Species: Gigantic Balaana Bee Fly (Balaana gigantea)
This Photo:     Dorsal
Other name: Balaana Beefly

Thank you Reiner Richter & Dr Chris Lambkin for confirming the id of this species for us

General Species Information:
Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA) and elsewhere
There is a very similar Bee Fly, Balaana abscondita. With those, however, Chris Lambkin said the white abdominal band is entire, and the wing band to the margin is broader.

Similar Species: Velvet Bee Fly (Munjua erugata)

Copyright © 2014-2024 Brett & Marie Smith. All Rights Reserved. Photographed 18-Feb-2014
This species is an Australian Native Species, not listed in the SA Murray Mallee Survey of 2010.