Volucella bombylans (Linnaeus, 1758)
(Fool’s Bumble-bee)

Interactions where Volucella bombylans is the dominant partner and gains from the process

The following relationships have been collated from the published literature (see 'Interaction References').

Stage Summary Taxon Vernacular Classification References Darwin Classification of Active Taxon Active Taxon Active Vernacular Active Taxon Uncertain Active State Active Part Active Stage Relationship Relationship Uncertain Relationship Geography Darwin Classification of Passive Taxon Passive Taxon Passive Vernacular Passive Taxon Uncertain Passive State Passive Part Passive Stage Passive Taxon's significance to Active Taxon Indoors etc Season
larva larva feeds on animal debris nest UK/Ireland Bombus bumble bees or humble bees & cuckoo bees Hymenoptera: Apidae Bumblebees, Prys-Jones, O.E. & Corbet, S.A., 1987
 /Animalia/Arthropoda/Insecta/Diptera/Syrphidae/Volucella bombylans/Volucella bombylansfool's bumble-beelarva Animal / dung / debris saprobeUK and/or Eire /Animalia/Arthropoda/Insecta/Hymenoptera/Apidae/Bombus/Bombusbumble bees or humble bees & cuckoo beesnest

Author & YearTitleSource
Prys-Jones, O.E. & Corbet, S.A., 1987BumblebeesNaturalists’ Handbooks, 6, 92pp, The Richmond Publishing Co. Ltd

Volucella bombylans (Fool’s Bumble-bee) may also be included in 'feeds on' relations listed under the following higher taxa:

Volucella bombylans (Fool’s Bumble-bee) may be included in 'fed on by' relations listed under the following higher taxa:

Taxonomic hierarchy:
SpeciesVolucella bombylans (Fool’s Bumble-bee)
GenusVolucella (a genus of hoverflies)
TribeVolucellini (a tribe of hoverflies)
SubfamilyMILESIINAE (a subfamily of hoverflies)
FamilySYRPHIDAE (hover flies, drone flies, flower flies, hoverfly)
SuperfamilySYRPHOIDEA (hover flies, drone flies, flower flies & big-headed flies)
InfraorderEremoneura - Cyclorrhapha (an infraorder of flies)
OrderDIPTERA (two-winged flies)
Division Endopterygota (bees, beetles, flies, moths and other insects with wings developing internally)
InfraclassNeoptera (bees, beetles, flies, grasshoppers, moths and other advanced insects)
SubclassPTERYGOTA (bees, beetles, dragonflies, flies, grasshoppers, moths and other winged insects)
ClassINSECTA (true insects)
SubphylumHEXAPODA (insects and other 6-legged organisms)
PhylumARTHROPODA (arthropods)
SuperphylumECDYSOZOA (skin shedders)
CladeBilateria (bilaterally symmetrical animals)
SubkingdomEUMETAZOA (metazoans)
KingdomANIMALIA (animals)
DomainEukaryota (eukaryotes)
LifeBIOTA (living things)
NBNNBN (data.nbn.org.uk) has a distribution map for Volucella bombylans (Fool’s Bumble-bee)

Volucella bombylans (Fool’s Bumble-bee) may be included in identification literature listed under the following higher taxa:

Literature listed under the following higher taxa may be relevant to Volucella bombylans (Fool’s Bumble-bee):

BioImagesBioImages (www.bioimages.org.uk) has 33 images of Volucella bombylans (Fool’s Bumble-bee)
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