Aphid-eating flies, like the sun, often flying among the flowers on grass or aromatic plants, eat pollen, nectar, and spread pollen. Adults have strong flight power, often soaring in the air, or vibrating wings to stay still in the air, or suddenly flying in a straight line at high speed and then hovering.
The thin flat aphid fly, the most commonly encountered, is not afraid of people, and the "little bee" that people call mostly refers to him.
This aphid-eating fly, the size of the body, the body markings are very similar to the bees, even when flying with a "buzzing" sound, is the most likely to be mistaken for aphid-eating flies.
There are many kinds of aphid flies, more than 5,000 species are known in the world, and more than 3,000 species are known in China.
Zodiac aphid flies
Spot-eyed aphid fly (eyes like a pear)
Although the aphid fly belongs to the same diptera as the common flies and flies, its living habits are even more different. The eggs of the aphid-eating fly are laid in aphid colonies, the larvae feed on aphids, and a larvae sucks the bodily fluids of more than a thousand aphids before pupating. Interestingly, feathered adult aphid-eating flies have to eat pollen to ensure that the ovaries develop and reproduce.
There are many species of aphid-eating flies that have a pronounced phenomenon of mimetic bees, which is a way of self-preservation. Therefore, it is also easy to be mistaken for a bee. In fact, as long as you make a little comparison, it is still easy to distinguish. The most obvious difference is the difference in the pair of antennae on their heads: the aphid-eating flies have short antennae and a fleshy texture. Bees have long antennae and many segments.
It's just bees. The most obvious difference from the aphid fly is the pair of antennae
(Original graphic)