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Asilidae
The Asilidae are the robber fly family, also called assassin flies. The name "robber flies" reflects their notoriously aggressive predatory habits; they feed mainly or exclusively on other insects and as a rule they wait in ambush and catch their prey in flight.
Seen near a river.
The Asilidae are predators, both in the juvenile stage and the adult stage, and feed on small arthropods, mainly insects. Although predatory forms in the adult stage are present in other taxonomic groups of Diptera, the Asilidae are the most representative for the number of species and for uniformity of feeding behavior. They are aggressive to the point of earning the common name, in English, of "robber flies". The combination of high biodiversity and high predatory activity leads to this family playing an important role in the ecological stability of entomofauna.
Spotted on Oct 31, 2015
Submitted on Feb 29, 2016
6 Comments
Thank you :-)
Great image! Thank you for the information and for sharing :)
Thanks a lot Ashley!
Your spotting has been nominated for the Spotting of the Week. The winner will be chosen by the Project Noah Rangers based on a combination of factors including: uniqueness of the shot, status of the organism (for example, rare or endangered), quality of the information provided in the habitat and description sections. There is a subjective element, of course; the spotting with the highest number of Ranger votes is chosen. Congratulations on being nominated!
Thank you :-)
Very cool photo.