beetle bug
My brother sent me this photo a couple years ago to ask if I knew what it was. I had no idea at the time that there was a website (yours) that I could consult. Now I know. He lives in London, Ontario, and the subject was photographed on a paper plate. I don’t see any antennae but there are 6 legs. And then there is a long component extending from the rear end. I have seen subjects with ovipositers on your site – is that was this is or does it have something to do with wings? I don’t remember if he said anything about flying. Can you tell me what it is?
Paula
PS I have already spent hours going through your website looking for this subject and have not seen everything – nevermind reading all the emails!

Hi Paula,
This is a Robber Fly and we actually have an entire page devoted to them. We usually get photos in the summer and that is a good time to see them on our home page. We also have many images of them mating. That is the abdomen extending beyond the wings.

This bug is my friend
Hi Bugman,
We haven’t noticed creatures like these in the Central Valley of California until the last year or so. It’s possible that they’ve been here all along but I’m positive not in my back yard. What is particularly striking about this bug is it’s tendancy to hunt and kill Paper Wasps that lurk in my lawn and land on my pool. I really like this bug. I would like to know more about this one.
Thanks!
Friend Of The Wasp Hunters

Dear Friend,
This is a Robber Fly in the genus Diogmites, known as the Hanging Thieves. They are skilled fliers and hunters as your observations have proven.

We had this flying around our work and finally killed it. What in the world is it?

Poor Dead Robber Fly. This is a beneficial insect that often kills and eats other pestiferous flies.

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

I need help identifying something strange (like you don’t hear that all the time). I was out on my porch the other day when I heard a buzzing sound from what I assumed was some sort of beetle or something. There are a lot of bugs around our wooded lot in western Virginia, so I didn’t think anything of it until it landed on the chair next to me. It was big (about 2 1/2" long and fairly "beefy"), blackish, and resembled a locust except for the soft yellow and black ringed body that tapered to a point at the end. I couldn’t see the wings while it was sitting there, but obviously it had some. I was immediately reminded of something from a sci-fi movie or a prehistoric critter on the Discovery Channel. I’ve looked everywhere and can’t find any descriptions or pictures resembling it. However, I’ll certainly be sure to take my camera with me whenever I take a cigarette break from now on.
-Michaele
(08/16/2004)
This is quite coincidental, in fact, because not two seconds before I checked my e-mail, it had returned out on my front porch and I was able to snap a picture. It’s not very good because I couldn’t get too close before it flew away, but here it is.
Michaele Davis

Hi again Michaele,
I’m glad you got the photo. You have a species of Robber Fly, Family Asilidae. These are predatory flies that it locates with those big eyes and often captures on wing. They are beneficial, though will bite people if mishandled. Based on your original description and your blurry photo, it seems like you have a Bee Killer also known as a Giant Robber Fly, Promachus fitchii. They are found in meadows and near honey bee hives from Massachusetts to Florida and west to Texas and North to Nebraska. According to our Audubon Insect Guide: “The Bee Killer often rests on leaves and branches with a clear view of flowers visited by Honey Bees. It seizes its victim from above, pierces its body and sucks out juices, then drops the emptied prey. A dozen or more bidies may pile up on the ground below a favorite perch.” Size can be deceptive. This species reaches 1 1/8 inches in length.