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Hi, can you help me identify this fly?
Hi, My name is Cary and I found a fly that I cannot identify. I live in the Orange County area of Calfornia. As I began walking to my car to leave the beach, I noticed a fly on the wall. It was about 1.5" long and at first glace, it looked like a dragonfly because of the large hump on the back of the head and the long abdomen but the wings were not perpendicular to the body; they were laid back like a regular fly. To my surprise, I put my finger in front of it and it held on so i walked to my car with this fly on my finger and managed to drive all the way back home so that i would be able to take pictures of it. I hope that these pictures are good enough for identification. If you would like, I can also send a short video if it as well.
Thanks,
Cary

Hi Cary,
You have sent in a photo of a Robber Fly from the Family Asilidae. They are swift flying predators that pounce on resting insects from above. We would have loved to see the photo of the Robber Fly on your finger. They have keen eyesight and are very difficult to approach since they are quick to take flight.

Thanks for your help and quick reply! I was reading around about the robber fly and I learned that it has a proboscis which could inject a toxin into its prey, which then dissolves the meal internally, which then gets sucked up by the big fly. Sounds as if it were a flying spider! The experience really makes me think about how many oppertunities it had to sting me but didn’t. Very cool!
Thanks again,
Cary

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