Robber Fly or something else?
Location: Adamstown, Maryland
August 28, 2011 8:57 pm
This 1 1/2” long hobo hitched a ride on my wife from the C&O Canal (Potomac River, near Point of Rocks, MD) to our house this morning. We’ve never seen anything like it, and would like to know what it is. Thanks in advance!
Signature: B. Saunders – curious photographer
Red Footed Cannibalfly
Dear B. Saunders,
You are correct that this is a Robber Fly, and we believe we have properly identified it as a Red Footed Cannibalfly, Promachus rufipes.
1
¶ Posted 29 August 2011 § ‡ ° crazy looking bug
Location: atlanta georgia
August 24, 2011 10:57 am
On a rainy summer day in Georgia, I find two of these fast flying bugs in my car. The other was larger than this, but I managed to get it to fly out a window.
Signature: dj
Robber Fly
Hi dj,
Crazy Bug? What about the crazy photo. It is truly an awesome photo of a Robber Fly.
Weird bug in Idaho
Location: Lake Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
August 20, 2011 2:49 am
I shot this picture August 17th at Lake Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, in the late afternoon. Any help would be appreciated! Thank you!
Signature: Kelly, Everett, WA
Robber Fly
Dear Kelly,
This magnificent predator is a Giant Robber Fly, and Robber Flies just might get the prize for the most adroit insect predators who hunt on the wing. Large Robber Flies can kill large Dragonflies. The closest match we could find on BugGuide at the start of our research was for Proctacanthus heros, though to the best of our knowledge, that is a southern species. The red legs and red abdomen look very similar to your individual. We suspected it was the same genus, however, there are no other matching images that we could find on BugGuide. We did locate this marvelous Random Natural Acts web page titled Proctacanthids devoted to the genus. At last we discovered this photo of Stenopogon inquinatus from British Columbia on BugGuide that looks like a very close visual match to your individual, and we believe that is a correct species identification. Random Natural Acts also has a Stenopogon page.
¶ Posted 20 August 2011 § ‡ ° please identify this carnivorous? bug
Location: 01867
August 19, 2011 8:06 am
seen outside yesterday north of boston
Signature: -bugged out
Red Footed Cannibalfly eats House Fly
Dear bugged out,
The predator is a Robber Fly known as a Red Footed Cannibalfly and it is eating a House Fly.
Red-footed canibalfly(?) and bug love
Location: Kirksville, MOAugust 18, 2011 6:50 pmI’ve been seeing a large number of these robber flies around the area for the past month or so, now. Their size is very impressive. I had been wondering what kind they were, exactly, so I was very happy to see so many photos of the red-footed cannibalfly on your site. That’s what it appears to be, at least! Some of them buzzed so close that I feared they were horse flies (which have also been very thick, lately). I felt a little silly (and relieved!)when I realized that the giant insect that had landed on my shirt while I was hiking was just a robber fly. I spotted a number of them along the trail that were mating, as well and I had to snap a few photos because robber flies are some of my favorites – their little muttonchops are just so charming!
Signature: EB
Red Footed Cannibalfly eating small insect
Dear EB,
We love your stunning photographs of Red Footed Cannibalflies eating and mating. We hope you don’t mind that we cropped and rotated them to fit our format.
Mating Red Footed Cannibalflies
3
Cicada killer?
Location: Doylestown PA/ Stephens City VA
August 10, 2011 6:31 am
Greetings!
I have what I believe are cicada killer wasps living in my backyard:dirt mounds with tunnels, siting of very large(3 inches) insect like the one in the photo going into said mound. Meanwhile, my neice in VA took a pic that looks exactly like the critter I saw going into the mounds.My questions are: is this a photo on a cicada killer female, and what is going on in this photo?
Signature: Deb Kerns
Red Footed Cannibalfly dines on Paper Wasp
Hi Deb,
The behavior you describe is consistent with that of Cicada Killers, however, the predator in the attached photo is a Robber Fly known as a Red Footed Cannibalfly. It is feeding on a Paper Wasp. Red Footed Cannibalflies would not be building underground nests, so despite the striped abdomen, if you compare this predator with this Cicada Killer image from our archives, you will see the apparent differences between the two insects. The Cicada Killer is a much more robust insect. Not having a photo in front of you and trusting your memory might be creating a false similarity between the two species.
What is it, Bugman?
Location: Midlands of South Carolina
August 8, 2011 12:21 pm
I found this bug in my studio window. Unfortunately it was already dead, but no bug carnage was incurred by me. I had caught one of these that was buzzing around the studio a few days before and released it outside. A few weeks ago, I saw a bug that looked similar to this take down a dragonfly in mid-flight. I’m guessing it may be a robber fly? Thanks to your website I am learning to identify a few bugs. I saw a wheelbug in my garden this morning.
Signature: Laura in Irmo, SC
Red Footed Cannibalfly
Hi Laura,
This Red Footed Cannibalfly, Promachus rufipes, is indeed a Robber Fly. See BugGuide for additional information. These large Robber Flies might be the most adept hunting insects that take prey on the wing. It is not unusual for them to take on large adversaries like Dragonflies. We are pleased to hear that you are learning to appreciate the insects around you as opposed to just killing anything that appears scary.
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¶ Posted 09 August 2011 § ‡ ° Large Stinging Insect
Location: Inside a DSW Shoe Store, Durham, NC, USA
August 5, 2011 11:02 pm
Hello, I saw this bug in a DSW shoe store and was wondering what it was. I don’t have a picture of it, but I tried to draw it. I know it looks bad but I’ll try to describe it. It was probably about 1.5 to 2 inches long, and maybe a bit less than half an inch wide. It had large black eyes, a nose like thing in between, and a slightly furry dark green/brown head. The wings were clear and narrow, and reached about to the ed of the bug, although not past the stinger, which was large, about one centimeter. The abdomen was narrow. That’s the best I can describe it. Sorry I can’t give a picture.
Thanks a lot,
-Emma
Robber Fly Drawing, we believe
Did it actually sting you or someone you know of?
No, I had just never seen anything like it before. But I look through some of the pictures on your website, and I think that it might be a robber fly.
Thanks!
-Emme
That was our first guess, however we needed to verify that there was just the perceived threat of a sting versus an actual sting. Robber Flies do not sting, but many people mistake the ovipositor of a female for a stinger and Robber Flies are frequently mistaken for wasps.
¶ Posted 08 August 2011 § ‡ ° 
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