Thought it was Laphria macquarti
Location: San Antonio, TX
April 19, 2011 3:36 pm
I saw the 4/15 post of Laphria macquarti and thought I had a shot of it, too, but this appears to be something different. Photos were taken last August in San Antonio. No yellow third leg, and it doesn’t appear as robust. Couldn’t find anything similar on BugGuide, but it does look like Laphria. He sat still for these portraits, so he wasn’t terribly active. Any ideas?
Signature: Melvis & Laugh
Belzebul Bee Eater
Dear Melvis & Laugh,
This is a magnificent predator. You are correct that this is not Laphria macquarti. The Robber Flies in the genus Laphria are known as the Bee-Like Robber Flies and they can be distinguished from the very similar Bee Killer Robber Flies in the genus Mallophora because the latter have a hairlike terminal segment on the antennae (very evident in your photo) while the former have thick antennae. We believe you have photographed the Belzebul Bee Eater, Mallophora leschenaulti, which is also known by the less devilish common name Black Bee Killer according to Bugguide. BugGuide also notes that the Belzebul Bee Eater: “Remarkably, has been reported to attack and kill hummingbirds.” There is much interesting information on this Mallophora webpage.
Belzebul Bee Eater
We decided we really needed to post all three of your images.
Belzebul Bee Eater
¶ Posted 19 April 2011 § ‡ ° Unknown fly or bee?
Location: Abbeville, Louisiana
April 15, 2011 5:02 pm
Found this bug in my yard today. It is slow moving and stayed stationary a lot.
Signature: Thanks, Marcelle
Beelike Robber Fly
Hi Marcelle,
This is a Beelike Robber Fly in the genus Laphria, and it fits the description of Laphria macquarti on BugGuide which describes it as: “Yellow on first few segments of the abdomen and the tibia of the middle leg.” It is a very effective Bumble Bee mimic.
Laphria macquarti
¶ Posted 16 April 2011 § ‡ ° Unknown Insect
Location: SW Florida
March 11, 2011 7:27 pm
Haven’t seen this one before. Found in a local park. Landed only on leaves & always faced me when moving from leaf to leaf. About 2 inches long. Also flies. Head swivels like Dragonflies does. I’ve been taking nature photos for 20 years & this bug is a new one for me & I cannot find it in any of my critter I.D. books. Hope you can help, thnak you.
Signature: Susan
Bee-Like Robber Fly
Hi Susan,
This is a Robber Fly in the family Asilidae, but we are having problems with a more specific identification. We believe it is either in either the genus Mallophora or the genus Laphria, both of which mimic bees. These predatory Robber Flies are fierce hunters and they prey upon bees, wasps and other large flying insects which they attack on the wing. We are favoring Laphria, because it appears that the antennae are thicker, though the angle of your photograph makes that feature difficult to verify. There are numerous species in the genus Laphria, and we are having problems identifying all the features your specimen possesses and matching them to a specific species. The combination of yellow beard, yellow thorax, yellow markings on abdomen, and yellow hairs on the legs should be distinguishing features, and we cannot seem to find a match on BugGuide. We are going to try to contact a Robber Fly expert, Dr. Robert Cannings, to see if he is able to provide a species identification.
Bee-Like Robber Fly
Hi Daniel:
It’s good to hear from you.
The robber fly is definitely a Laphria. There are a number of species in Florida, and I’m not familiar enough with them to be able to make a reasonable guess at this one’s identity. It’s a nice photo, but I can’t see the sides of the thorax or the abdominal colour pattern well enough to run it through a key. You could try Eric Fisher who knows much more about southern US species than I do.
Sorry I can’t be of more help.
Regards,
Rob
¶ Posted 13 March 2011 § ‡ ° Strange fly
Location: Daytona Beach, FL
March 9, 2011 10:41 pm
I was at work and noticed this very odd looking insect. It appears to be some sort of fly though I haven’t the faintest idea what type. Forgive the low resolution photo, it was all my phone could muster.
Signature: Brian B
Robber Fly
Hi Brian,
Your photo does not have enough detail for us to be able to determine a species, however, the silhouette alone allows us to identify this as a Robber Fly in the family Asilidae. Robber Flies are very adept hunters.
¶ Posted 10 March 2011 § ‡ ° Dragonfly hunter
Location: Sydney Australia
March 9, 2011 11:57 pm
Dear bugman,can you please identify this
fearsome looking dragenfly hunter ,I found in my garden this morning?
King Regards
Signature: Katja
Robber Fly eats Dragonfly
Hi Katja,
The Robber Fly in your photo looks like an especially large specimen, and large Robber Flies are capable of snatching large flying prey on the wing. They are formidable hunters. We believe we have properly identified your Robber Fly as the Common Yellow Robber Fly, Ommatius sp., by comparing your photos to those posted on the Insects of Brisbane website.
Flying spider from the congo?
Location: Congo
February 11, 2011 3:41 pm
My friend who is in the Congo took this picture this week. Here’s her description:
Saw the most amazing and bizarre bug a few days ago. No one seems to have a clue what it is. Anyone out there feel like finding the answer? It was about 1.5-2 inches, flies like a bumble bee, looks like part fly, part tarantula, part exotic, part scary.
Signature: David Guralnick
Robber Fly
Dear David,
This fantastic creature is a Robber Fly, but we are uncertain of the species. We don’t believe there is much online information to help identify this Robber Fly. Robber Flies are predators and this individual looks very much like some North American Robber Flies in the genus Laphria, the Bee-Like Robber Flies. You can see some North American examples on BugGuide.
Cool, thank you for your response. Is it strange that, considering how many different types of Robber Flies there are, that one from North America would look so much like one in Africa?
David Guralnick
Karl supplies some information
Re: Robber Fly from the Congo – February 11, 2011
Hi Daniel and David:
I believe that your spectacular Robber Fly belongs to the genus Hyperechia. Members of this genus mimic the large Carpenter Bees in the genus Xylocopa and the larvae feed on the bee larvae. It is thought that the Robber Fly disguise enables them to get close enough to lay their eggs inside the bee’s nesting burrows. There are a number of African species but based on a key to the genus Hyperechia (in Oldroyd 1970. Studies of African Asilidae (Diptera) i. Asilidae of the Congo basin) this one is likely H. floccose. I think this genus has appeared on WTB? at least once before, in a posting by Robert (danielj), Unknown Robber Fly from Tanzania, August 16, 2008. Robert’s Robber Fly looks like it could be H. marshalli, or perhaps H. bifasciata. Regards. Karl
¶ Posted 17 February 2011 § ‡ ° Subject: unknown giant 1” by 2”wing span fly costa 2001
Location: costa rica
February 12, 2011 6:00 pm
I had this guy in my collection since march 2001 i think its from costa rica ,Iam an avide entomologist and photographer of insects .I rasie and realise silkmoths from the us aswell but for the life of me i cant find this guy or girl giant fly. looks to be simaliar to a robber fly but its huge and a single pair of wings ,I hope you dont consider this carnage
Signature: ryan
Mydas Fly Specimen
Hi Ryan,
We posted a photo of a Robber Fly from Arizona a few years ago and we never properly identified it, however, it looks very similar to your specimen. While we do not consider your collection to be carnage, we wish you had taken better care of this magnificent creature that probably looked much more impressive while it was alive and trying to capture prey. We are posting both of your images because the overexposed image shows details that are absent in the darker shot.
Mydas Fly Specimen
Correction From A Facebook Post
Hi Gad,
Eric Eaton commented on WhatsThatBug.com’s post.
Eric wrote: “Not a robber fly but a “mydas fly,” family Mydidae. Very cool just the same!”
See the comment thread
Reply to this email to comment on this post.
Thanks,
The Facebook Team
The Bugman Replied
Thanks Eric. We looked on BugGuide for Mydas Flies, but nothing came close to this coloration. Do you suppose they mimic Tarantula Hawks?
Eric wrote: “No question it mimics a Pepsis wasp! You can’t be easily faulted, the head of this specimen looks a bit mangled….”
¶ Posted 12 February 2011 § ‡ ° Big Bee / Wasp?
Location: Kalgoorlie Western Australia (Desert)
January 30, 2011 1:18 am
Hi,
can u identify this thing? It was fouund at my hsbands work yesterday (Gold mine, Kalgoorlie Western Australia) after it stung / bit him, mild irritation went away quickly. I have tried to identify it withot success.
Thanks
Signature: Sarah Ryan
Giant Robber Fly
Hi Sarah,
This is a Robber Fly in the family Asilidae. Robber Flies are predators, and though they do not prey upon humans, they can bite if carelessly handled. We searched the Insects of Brisbane website and we believe we have identified your specimen as a Giant Robber Fly, Phellus olgae.
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