Robber Fly eats Deer Fly
Location: Clarksburg, MA
July 29, 2011 9:18 am
This is not the Red-Footed Cannibalfly, but still a very cool bug out here in Western MA! Photos are from July 13. (I’ve pasted my comment/story from the RF Cannibalfly post). Thanks!
True story: so I’m out in my backyard looking for bugs to photograph, when I find this robber fly sitting on a fence rail. I approach with the usual care to get as close as possible, but I am having difficulty because of the summer menace in Western MA known as “DEER FLIES.” The only natural way to keep them off of me (that I’m aware of) is to have my dog by my side because apparently dogs taste better to deer flies — anyway I wasn’t subjecting Molly to that torture, so they are distracting me, buzzing around my head when the robber fly takes off right for me. I first thought I was annoying it and had provoked a warning buzz or something, but then I noticed it had landed not too far from its original parking spot. As I got close again, I saw that it now had lunch: one of the deer flies just buzzing around my head! Talk about my hero! I ended up taking quite a few pictures of it and its prey, which can be tricky because I don’t like to scare off bugs from hard -earned meals (I guess it wasn’t that hard-earned in this case, but still). I thought I had done just that when the robber fly left its prey on the fence, only for it to do another buzz-by and land with another deer fly!
Thusly, all I can say is, robber flies may not be man’s best friend, but they might be a close second. (They also deserve a nomination for dog’s best friend.)
Signature: Michael Marlow
Robber Fly eats Deer Fly
Hi Michael,
Thanks for repeating your story along with photos that illustrate it properly. Robber Flies are truly amazing predators.
Robber Fly eats Deer Fly
2
Bug identification
Location: chicago suburbs
July 28, 2011 3:41 pm
We live in the far western suburbs of Chicago (about a mile away is ”country”). This bug has been hanging out by our back (patio) door on and off for a week now. It is annoying. Does it sting or bite? What else can you tell me about it?
He is about as long as the diameter of a quarter. His legs are pretty thick and have ”hairs” on them. He kinda ”dances” around the door, but lands for brief times. He reminds me of something in the bee/hornet family, but I don’t see a stinger (by his coloring and the way he files).
HELP??
Signature: Molly
Hanging Thief
Hi Molly,
This is a Hanging Thief, a genus of Robber Flies. Other than it “hanging out” you didn’t indicate what it does that is so annoying. Hanging Thieves are not an aggressive group, however, we acknowledge that they could probably bite a person if they were carelessly handled, an encounter you can avoid by simply ignoring them. Hanging Thieves are predators and they catch flying insects to feed upon.
¶ Posted 29 July 2011 § ‡ ° Is it a fly? Bee? Beetle?
Location: NE Los Angeles
July 27, 2011 2:27 pm
My daugher and I were outside in our Eagle Rock, California backyard and this delightful bug flew past and decided to land on my shoe. After I gave my shoe a gentle shake, it flew over to a blade of grass. We are perplexed as to what exactly it is!
Signature: Loving the flying things
Bee Killer
Hi Ltft,
Our offices are in nearby Mt Washington. This is a Robber Fly known as a Bee Killer, Mallophora fautrix. They are predators that catch large flying insects, including bees and wasps, while on the wing.
Bee Killer
¶ Posted 27 July 2011 § ‡ ° What is this thing?
Location: Lancaster, PA
July 22, 2011 2:18 pm
Seen this sort of little guy three times in the last few years, so he can’t be that prolific, from what I can tell. One got into my apartment forever ago and it flew around like a wasp, and flexed its abdomen as if it were trying to sting after I’d smacked him down. (No stinger though from what I can see.)
Then yesterday, there was one zooming around my workplace and dive bombing people. I tried to take him out, but he escaped me.
Is this little guy a sort of fly? His mouth parts and eyes remind me of a fly and the rest of him seems wasp like. He’s not really that small either. He’s about the size of a wasp. He flies sort of clunky too, unlike a fly.
Signature: The Creeped out One
Hanging Thief
Dear Creeped out One,
You are astute in your observations that the face of this Hanging Thief in the genus Diogmites has the mouth parts and eyes of a fly because it is a Robber Fly in the family Asilidae.
¶ Posted 22 July 2011 § ‡ ° Is this a hornet of some sort?
Location: on the coast of NC
July 20, 2011 8:51 pm
Hi. I was just wanting to find out what kind of bug this is and if it stings. It sure is big and looks mean so I am on the internet trying to figure it out. Can you help me? Thanks.
Signature: Kim
Red Footed Cannibalfly
Hi Kim,
You have encountered a Giant Robber Fly in the genus, Promachus, and we are nearly certain it is a Red Footed Cannibalfly or Bee Panther, Promachus rufipes based on photos posted to BugGuide. These adroit hunters prey upon large flying insects like bees and wasps.
¶ Posted 21 July 2011 § ‡ ° Wasp Predating on Bee
Location: Eatonton GA (Middle GA)
July 20, 2011 6:30 am
Hello!
I love the daily Bug posts on Facebook. I’m a gardener and see all sorts of interesting insects. Here are two photos of a wasp eating a bee in my pole beans. I don’t know what kind of wasp this is – they typically eat pests and nectar. I think the bee is a wood bee – we have many of them.
Signature: GA Gardener
Hanging Thief eats Bumble Bee
Dear GA Gardener,
This adroit predator is a Hanging Thief, a species of Robber Fly, and it appears that it has caught and is feeding upon a small Bumble Bee. You should be able to tell how the Hanging Thief got its common name as your photo clearly shows it hanging from a single leg as it is feeding. The prey is typically caught on the wing.
2
mystery fly?
Location: Sandwich, MA, Cape Cod, USA
July 16, 2011 3:13 pm
Hi, I found this guy on my porch rail this morning here on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. It was a cool July morning and the insect was sluggish enough to pose for a good shot. Can you tell me what it is? And is it a biting insect? Its mouthparts remind me of those of a horsefly.
Signature: Tim Crowninshield
Robber Fly
Hi Tim,
We are starting to go cross-eyed we have looked at so many Flies on BugGuide, and like you, we haven’t a clue as to the identity of this stunning Fly. Something makes us think it is a predator, and possibly a Robber Fly, but that is just a hunch. We will try to contact Eric Eaton to see if he is able to assist in an identification.
Robber Fly
Daniel:
It is indeed a robber fly, Ommatius tibialis most likely:
http://bugguide.net/node/view/20271
That “bump” on the front margin of the wing is pretty diagnostic it would appear.
Eric
¶ Posted 19 July 2011 § ‡ ° Flying insect in Texas
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
July 11, 2011 6:33 pm
Hi, I took this picture on my front porch in Ft Worth, Texas. It was about 4:30 in the afternoon on a very hot day in July.
It kinda looks like a dragonfly…but not quite. It is only about 1 1/2” long.
I’m stumped.
P.S. I also don’t live near any ponds or lakes. Very much an urban area.
Signature: Leah in Texas
Robber Fly
Hi Leah,
This is a predatory Robber Fly, and we believe we may have identified it as Efferia aestuans, based on this photo posted to BugGuide.
Thank you! The end of it’s tail was really throwing me.
¶ Posted 12 July 2011 § ‡ ° 
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