Bombylius major - large bee-fly:

On a Primrose Wildflower Plant | Primula Vulgaris. The large bee-fly is a bee mimic - it resembles a small bumblebee.

The adult flies are striking and have a hairy body with long hairy legs and a characteristically long, slender tongue which they use for nectar retrieval whilst hovering beside a flower head.

Bombylius major larvae parasitise beetle larvae as well as the brood of solitary wasps and bees - another reason for its name.

The female has been seen to flick her eggs mid-air into the ground bees’ and wasps’ nests.