Bumble Bee Hover Fly vs Koala

Volucella bombylans compared with Phascolarctos cinereus

Key Differences

• Bumble Bee Hover Fly is Least Concern while Koala is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Bumble Bee Hover Fly	Koala
Kingdom same	Animalia (Tier)	Animalia (Tier)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Gliederfüßer)	Chordata (Chordatiere)
Class	Insecta (Insekten)	Mammalia (Säugetiere)
Order	Diptera (Zweiflügler)	Diprotodontia (Marsupials)
Family	Syrphidae	Phascolarctidae (Koalas)
Genus	Volucella	Phascolarctos (Koalas)
Species	Volucella bombylans	Phascolarctos cinereus

Evolutionary Relationship

Bumble Bee Hover Fly and Koala share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Tier)

Conservation Status

Bumble Bee Hover Fly

LC — Least Concern

Koala

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~100.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Bumble Bee Hover Fly	Koala
Diet	—	Herbivore
Average Lifespan	—	15 years
Average Length	—	75 cm
Average Weight	—	10.0 kg

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.

Koala

Habitat

Typically found in grasslands, forests, and vegetated habitats.

Range

Found in Australia. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

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.

Koala

Iconic marsupial of eastern and southeastern Australia, koalas weigh up to 15 kg and spend up to 22 hours daily sleeping to conserve energy from their low-calorie eucalyptus leaf diet. Highly specialized to process toxic eucalyptus compounds that would kill most other mammals, they have gut microbiomes uniquely adapted for detoxification. Listed as Endangered in 2022, with populations decimated by chlamydia disease, habitat clearing, and climate change.