Bee Fly vs Clifton's Anguloa

Bombylius major compared with Anguloa cliftonii

Key Differences

• Bee Fly is Least Concern while Clifton's Anguloa is Critically Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Bee Fly	Clifton's Anguloa
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Liliopsida (Monocots)
Order	Diptera (Diptera)	Asparagales (Asparagales)
Family	Bombyliidae	Orchidaceae
Genus	Bombylius	Anguloa
Species	Bombylius major	Anguloa cliftonii

Conservation Status

Bee Fly

LC — Least Concern

Clifton's Anguloa

CR — Critically Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Bee Fly	Clifton's Anguloa
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Bee Fly

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and United States.

Clifton's Anguloa

Habitat

Typically found in grasslands, wetlands, forests, and cultivated landscapes.

Bee Fly

The Bee Fly (Bombylius major) is a species in the genus Bombylius. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Clifton's Anguloa

Clifton's Anguloa, Anguloa cliftonii, is a striking terrestrial orchid in the family Orchidaceae native to the cloud forests of the Andes in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. The genus Anguloa, known as cradle orchids or tulip orchids, is celebrated among orchid enthusiasts for its large, tulip-shaped, waxy flowers that rock gently when moved, simulating the movement of a bee—a presumed pollination adaptation. The flowers of Anguloa cliftonii are creamy white to pale yellow, often with pink or rose spotting, and are produced singly on erect peduncles arising from the base of large, pleated pseudobulbs. The plant is a cool-growing epiphyte or lithophyte found in humid montane forest at elevations between approximately 1,500 and 2,500 meters in the Andes. Anguloa species are pollinated by male euglossine bees attracted to fragrant compounds. The cloud forest habitats of the Andes are among the world's most biodiverse ecosystems and simultaneously among the most threatened, subject to deforestation for agriculture, cattle ranching, and coca cultivation. Many Andean orchid species are also threatened by over-collection for the horticultural trade. Anguloa cliftonii is cultivated in specialist collections and is the subject of conservation concern in its native range.