Giant Robber Fly

Description:

Large robber flies with tiger-stripe pattern on abdomen.

Habitat:

Jumping around with a meal on the sand at the edge of Lake Lewisville.

Notes:

All robber flies have stout, spiny legs, a dense moustache of bristles on the face (mystax), and 3 simple eyes (ocelli) in a characteristic depression between their two large compound eyes. The mystax helps protect the head and face when the fly encounters prey bent on defense. The antennae are short, 3-segmented, sometimes with a bristle-like structure called an arista.