Heath bee-fly  (Bombylius minor)

Learn about the scientific name of this species and how it fits into the tree of life at Nature Navigator.

Threats

The loss of much of Britain's heathland has resulted in the disappearance of many species that depend on this habitat. Heath is a habitat that requires careful management or it can become covered with scrub and rank vegetation. This management has often been absent from many otherwise suitable sites.

Conservation

The heath bee-fly is listed in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan, and included in English Nature's Species Recovery Programme. parasites can be very vulnerable to changes in the population size of their host-species. In this species, a lack of suitable heathland management can reduce the opportunities for host larval cells to be dug into bare earth. This situation also reduces the chances of the early-colonising plants (the food-source for the adult insects) being able to gain a foothold.

There is still relatively little known about this insect's biology, and more field work is essential before the true status of the heath bee-fly is known. Only then will it be possible to implement plans to conserve it, together with many of the other species that depend on this apparently fragile heathland habitat.

There may be further information about this species available via the National Biodiversity Network Gateway.
The UK Biodiversity Action Plan for this species is available at UK BAP.
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