To Bee or not?
Is it a bee without a buzz?
It could be a bee with all that fuzz.
But then its wings stick-out too far
and all six legs have got no hair.
You want to know the reason why?
Because it is a bee-sized fly!
They seem to wear their bee-costumes
and pollinate the same bee-blooms.
Their females are a bee’s worst pest
and lay their eggs in real-bee nests.
To be a bee-fly small or large
it helps to be bee-camouflaged.
Celia Berrell
Celia said: This poem isn’t about bees. Honest!
Bombyliidae (Bee Flies)
Bee flies are large, fat, and hairy, often with a long, rigid proboscis. They are excellent mimics of bees, and may have black and yellow stripes along the abdomen. The adults are avid seekers of nectar from various flowers, although a few species feed on pollen. They are important pollinators, and can reach the nectaries of many wildflowers that are inaccessible to other flies. Their larvae are brood parasites on various species of bees and wasps.
Australian Children’s Poetry 