Bumble Bee Hover Fly vs Hornet Hoverfly

Volucella bombylans compared with Volucella zonaria

Key Differences

• Bumble Bee Hover Fly is Least Concern while Hornet Hoverfly is Data Deficient.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Bumble Bee Hover Fly	Hornet Hoverfly
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class same	Insecta (Insects)	Insecta (Insects)
Order same	Diptera (Diptera)	Diptera (Diptera)
Family same	Syrphidae	Syrphidae
Genus same	Volucella	Volucella
Species	Volucella bombylans	Volucella zonaria

Evolutionary Relationship

Bumble Bee Hover Fly and Hornet Hoverfly share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Volucella.

Conservation Status

Bumble Bee Hover Fly

LC — Least Concern

Hornet Hoverfly

DD — Data Deficient

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Bumble Bee Hover Fly	Hornet Hoverfly
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Bumble Bee Hover Fly

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

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

Hornet Hoverfly

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, and Sweden.

Bumble Bee Hover Fly

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

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 3 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇸🇪 Sweden