Small to nearly bee-size flies in or around bee hive or decaying bees. Flies have a single pair of wings and antennaeantenna:
paired, slender, and jointed segmented appendages on the bee head; primary taste, touch and smell receptors. Antennation refers to how bees interact using their antennae to communicate various messages such as food exchange and distribution of queen pheromones.
that are not obviously segmented and do not have an "elbow."
Bee hives attract a number of critters, such as flies, yellowjackets or other wasps, earwigs, and beetles. Such occasional scavengers can be found in or around the outside of a hive, in hive debris within or discharged from the hive, and around honey or sugar syrup feeders.
Flies, including familiar fruit flies, may be attracted to honey (fully ripened, ripening, or fermenting) or dry/liquid sugars being fed to the bees; scavenger flies (adult or maggot stage) are frequently in hive debris, among dead brood and adults, or feeding on bodies of clustered dead adults in winter deadouts (dead colonies).
Flies and other scavengers serve a critical function of recycling and decomposing dead colonies/bees.
Robber flies are a minor predator of foragers. Hover flies on flowers are easily confused as bees (one group has the common name "bee flies").
Maggots (immature flies) resemble beetle larvae and wax moth caterpillars but lack legs or other body features. Adult flies might be confused with bees, especially hover flies when on flowers.
Callis-Torres V, at el. 2019. Insects that look like bees. MSU Extension Gardening in Michigan. Accessed 2023. https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/insects-that-look-like-bees
Edwards D. 2021. Fruit Fly Infestations: Causes and Treatment. PestSeek. Accessed 2023. https://pestseek.com/fruit-fly-infestation/
