The variegated spring beegrabber (''Myopa buccata'') is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

fly Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced ...

from the genus ''

Myopa ''Myopa'' is a genus of flies from the family Conopidae. They are parasitic on honey bees ''Apis mellifera'', also ''Andrena'', and mustache bees ''Anthophora''. Species *'' M. bohartorum'' Camras, 1953 *'' M. bozinovici'' Barahona-Segovia 20 ...

'' in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Conopidae The Conopidae, also known as the thick-headed flies, are a family of fly, flies within the Brachycera suborder of Diptera, and the sole member of the superfamily Conopoidea. Flies of the family Conopidae are distributed worldwide in all the bio ...

. Their

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e are

endoparasites Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The ent ...

of bumble bees of the genus ''

Bombus A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only Extant taxon, extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct r ...

''. It is common throughout much of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

References

Parasitic flies Parasites of bees Conopidae Flies described in 1758 Muscomorph flies of Europe Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Endoparasites {{Conopoidea-stub