Robber Fly

[deetheturk]

Two,in my eyes,very different looking Robber Fly's,both were captured yesterday,does anyone know why they look so different?
C&C Welcome!


#1


#2


Cheers David...

[Shadowman]

Very nice captures.

[deetheturk]

Cheers John,appreciated bud

[Wavelength]

Simply outstanding..............

[deetheturk]

As always Nandakumar,thank you

[Geoff F]

There are a lot of Robberflies (Asilidae) David; and with quite a bit of variation in appearance.

Having all black legs does narrow down the options though. Possibly something like Dysmachus for the first? The thorax stripes should rule out Dioctria and Machimus species tend to be a bit on the brownish side. But that still leaves several options.

Possibly the second fly is a species which we don't get here. Philonicus is probably the most hairy one that is found in the UK.

I do find Robberflies an interesting species but I still have a great deal to learn about them.

[Brownbear]

Absolutely stunning. And that second fly is absolutely adorable - it actually looks cuddly.

[Otavio]

Stunning, David! Very nice, indeed. Great level of details, tack sharp! Would you mind sharing the info about the equipment that you used, as well as settings (exifs)?

Cheers,

[deetheturk]

Thanks again Geoff for my weekly education on insects

I find them interesting too,but can't believe i never thought there might be more than one type,as Del boy would say,wot a plonker

[deetheturk]

Thank you Christina,don't know if i fancy cuddling it though

[deetheturk]

Cheers Otavio,these images were taken with a Canon 5d mk111, Canon 100mmL macro is lens and a Canon twin light flash!

Exif,100mm,f14, ss1/200 and iso 200,hope this helps bud

[NorthernFocus]

I don't have the slightest idea what they are but I do recognize awesome photography. The second shot in particular is over the top. Nice job.

[Stagecoach]

More great specimens, beautifully shot David.

The second one is trying to imitate a jumping spider, it's obvious

Grahame

[deetheturk]

Thank's Dan, much appreciated!

[deetheturk]

Cheers Grahame, i think it had more hair than the Jumpers

David

[bnnrcn]

WOW! Stunning David

[deetheturk]

Thank you Binnur

[Saorsa]

Robber Fly describes a family. There are sub-families before you get to Genus and species.

It may not help for you (bugguide only covers US insects) but here is the Bugguide.net into page for robberflies at the family level.

http://bugguide.net/node/view/151

There are 9 subfamilies http://bugguide.net/node/view/151/tree

[deetheturk]

Cheers Brian, appreciated bud, I will check it out!

[CBImages]

As has been already pointed out, the name Robber Fly describes a family of predatory insects which have similar characteristics - a prominent, sturdy proboscis which it inserts into its prey and proceeds to suck them dry.
They also have lots of bristles/hairs which it is thought keeps struggling prey away from their eyes and a groove between their eyes.
There are many different kinds of flies with these same characteristics, we have around 27 here in the UK.

Despite their fearsome appearance they are harmless to humans.

Attached is one I photographed recently along with its 'breakfast' an unfortunate 'Plume Moth'.
You can even see the puncture wound on the body of the moth where the Robber Fly inserted his proboscis to feed.