One might wonder why a website featuring such numerous, attractive, and ecologically important flies has not been presented earlier, especially for the region of North America where the variety of these insects reaches its zenith. Perhaps, the remarkable diversity of bee flies itself may seem like an overwhelming obstacle to naturalists (and perhaps even entomologists) trying to come to grips with the differences both between and within the many local genera. There are a number of reasons why this website has been a long time coming. First, there’s the size of bee flies themselves. Although some species may reach 20 mm or more in body length (about ¾ inch), most are considerably smaller, closer to 10 mm, and in numerous cases, smaller than 5 mm. In fact, there are several genera in which the adults are smaller than 2 mm; e.g., Mythicomyia, minute flying specks with rudimentary wing venation that are difficult to see, much less to photograph, collect, mount, or identify. To lessen your frustration (and ours?) we’ve excluded the genera with the tiniest individuals from this undertaking, in the same manner some authors omit the very smallest micromoths from books or websites introducing moths to field biologists. Another reason for the dearth of bee fly projects, especially those geared to naturalists, is the lack of common names. As opposed to many other countries, North American naturalists have no fondness for using scientific names in the field. The controversy within the birding community suggests that common names aren’t necessarily the most straightforward answer, either. We’re not here to judge. Note that having officially adopted common names for dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata), has fueled the recent uptick in interest and helped account for the dozens of books and websites that feature those fascinating insects. Contributing also to the problem is the difficulty distinguishing subfamilies and genera, much less species. A large percentage of the North American bee flies are not represented by photos with verified identifications, and even an excellent image may not be adequate for identifying an individual in hand. Keys to our largest genera may have been published 70 years ago, or haven’t even been written yet, and the dearth of literature is intensified by the dwindling number of insect taxonomists. To obtain a confident identification within certain groups, microscopic examination is vital; inspection of wing veins, antennal segments, details of head and leg ornamentation, and occasionally even genitalic dissection may be necessary. Many of these minute details require specimens, and collecting is difficult, inadvisable, illegal, or frowned-upon in some circles. Although examining specimens in private collections, museums, and universities is undoubtedly helpful, we endeavor here to bridge the gap between dead, inactive specimens and live, behaving, vital organisms--not an easy undertaking, but an important step. We hope this website will be a growing, evolving organism and, as incomplete as it may be, will foster the public’s interest in bombyliid identification and biology, perhaps ultimately resulting in a book. Our hope is that other researchers don’t have to begin on the bottom rung of the ladder—as we did.