30 March 2017 South of the Cement Works and my first two Dotted Bee-flies, Bombylius discolor, of the year visited the yellow drooping flowers of the frequent Cowslips. Adur Dotted Bee-fly List

30 March 2017
South of the Cement Works and my first two Dotted Bee-flies, Bombylius discolor, of the year visited the yellow drooping flowers of the frequent Cowslips.

18 April 2010
A Dotted Bee-fly, Bombylius discolor, was spotted hovering about and visiting Dog Violets on the lower slopes of Mill Hill. Its identity was confirmed by a  poor photograph.

5 April 2009
There were frequent Dotted Bee-flies hovering in mid-air and visiting Ground Ivy on the Coastal Link Cyclepath near the Cement Works.

29 March 2009
An unexpected treat was three or four individual Dotted Bee-flies, Bombylius discolor, using their long feeding tubes to take nectar on a large patch of Ground Ivy, Glechoma hederacea.

This is a notable record of a rarely recorded fly and is probably the first for Lancing. Bombylius discolor is a declining BAP (Biodiversity Action Plan) species. In Great Britain this species is classified as Nationally Scarce.
Report by Ray Hamblett on the new Friends of Lancing Ring web pages
 
6 April 2006
A solitary Dotted Bee-fly (with spotted wings), Bombylius was seen on a path through the scrub in the north-west of Mill Hill.
(TQ 210 075)
 
This is Bombylius discolor, a declining BAP (Biodiversity Action Plan) species. In Great Britain this species is classified as Nationally Scarce.
This is the first time this fly has been recorded on the downs north of Shoreham. It has probably been recorded from Cissbury Ring though.