Alice Springs Desert Park
ASDP DipteraBee Fly (Australiphthiria sp) Bee Fly (Ligyra cingulata)
The tiny bee-flies belonging to the genus Australiphthiria are unusual for bee-flies, in that they are nearly hairless and don’t have the distinctively bent wing-veins displayed by many species. They are diurnal (day-time activity).
These small insects have been photographed here enjoying the nectar of the flowering Australian Desert Rose (Gossypium australe), in the the Alice Springs Desert Park.
This genus Australiphthiria species are often found on the flowering genus Gossypium, including the Australian Desert Rose (Gossypium australe) (pictured here), Sturt’s Desert Rose (Gossyipium sturtianum var. sturtianum) and the Bush Hibiscus (Radyera farragei).
- Scientific classification
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Arthropoda
- Subphylum: Hexapoda
- Class: Insecta
- Subclass: Pterygota
- Order: Diptera
- Suborder: Brachycera
- Infraorder: Orthorrhapha
- Superfamily: Asiloidea
- Family: Bombyliidae
- Subfamily: Phthiriinae
- Tribe: Phthiriini
- Genus: Australiphthiria
Footnote & References
- Genus Australiphthiria, iNaturalistAU, https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/taxa/633588-Australiphthiria
- Genus Australiphthiria, ausemade, iNaturalistAU, https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/observations/109521160
ASDP DipteraBee Fly (Australiphthiria sp) Bee Fly (Ligyra cingulata)
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