Bee Killer Robber Fly vs Cabbage Whitefly

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Bee Killer Robber Fly Cabbage Whitefly
Scientific Name Mallophora bomboides Aleyrodes proletella
Order Diptera Hemiptera
Family Asilidae Aleyrodidae
Size 20-28 mm 1-1.5 mm
Habitat Farmland Farmland
Diet Herbivores Sap Feeders
Regions Eastern United States from New England to Florida Europe, North Africa, Western Asia
Conservation Least Concern Not Evaluated

Bee Killer Robber Fly

A large fuzzy robber fly that closely resembles a bumble bee in both appearance and buzzing flight. It perches on vegetation and launches aerial attacks on passing insects.

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Did You Know?

Its bumble bee mimicry is so convincing that it can sit among real bees at flowers without being recognized as a predator.

Cabbage Whitefly

A small white-winged insect that infests brassica crops, weakening plants with sap feeding and honeydew production. Populations have increased dramatically in European cabbage and kale crops.

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Did You Know?

Unlike most whiteflies, it thrives outdoors in cool temperate climates rather than in tropical greenhouses.