Bug FAQDorcadion Bee Fly
Exoprosopa dorcadion · Order: Diptera · Family: Bombyliidae
Exoprosopa dorcadion has a black mark on the leading edge of its wing near the tip that stops before the outermost vein. It is widespread across North America.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The black wing mark ends before the outermost vein.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It occurs widely throughout North America.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its range includes much of North America.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
Exoprosopa caliptera has a similar wing mark that reaches the outermost vein, unlike dorcadion. The trailing edge of the wings of Exoprosopa divisa, doris, and eremita is clear, which differs from dorcadion.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 13 of 51 states and DC. Most records: California, Colorado, Oregon, New Mexico, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Arizona.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
How can I tell Dorcadion Bee Fly apart from similar species?
Look for the black mark on the leading edge that stops before the outermost vein; in Exoprosopa caliptera the mark reaches the vein, and other lookalikes have a clear wing trailing edge.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Bombyliidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exoprosopa_dorcadion
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-27 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-27.