Vol. 78 2026

ARTICLES

Species Composition and Areographical Characteristic of the European Bee Flies (Insecta: Diptera: Bombyliidae)

Zdravko Hubenov*

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*National Museum of Natural history, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1 Tsar Osvoboditel Blvd., 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria;
E-mail: zkhubenov@abv.bg; zhubenov@nmnhs.co

https://doi.org/10.71424/azb78.1.002880

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Abstract

Currently there are 378 known species of Bombyliidae in Europe. They belong to 56 genera and 11 subfamilies. The fauna of Bombyliidae of the continent is scrutinised within its physicogeographical boundaries. The distribution of species in the different parts of Europe is presented and the faunistic similarity among them is discussed. Taxa of Bombyliidae are divided into two main zoogeographical groups: 1) species with Mediterranean type of distribution (243 species or 64.3%): more thermophilic and distributed mainly in the southern parts of the Palaearctic and the parts of the mountains with lower altitude; 2) species with Palaearctic and Eurosiberian type of distribution (123 species or 32.5%): more eurobiontic and widely distributed. Fifty endemic forms (13.2%) have been found. The distribution of the zoogeographical categories in the different parts of the continent is scrutinised. The European fauna includes 7.9% of the known species of the family.

Key words

Diptera, Bombyliidae, Europe, faunistics, zoogeography

How to Cite
Hubenov Z. 2026. Species Composition and Areographical Characteristic of the European Bee Flies (Insecta: Diptera: Bombyliidae). Acta zoologica bulgarica 78.

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