Top Tweets for #Robberflies
🪰NEW RELEASE! The most complete photographic guide to #flies ever published featuring 1500+ photos and covering 1200+ species.
From #craneflies to #hoverflies, #soldierflies to #robberflies + distribution maps for each species.
https://t.co/fuIj69PV3k
#Diptera #Entomology
#Robberflies
https://t.co/EXguQcmdV1
Robber fly (genus Pegesimallus) for #insectthursday.
Palampur, HP - June 2025.
#ThePhotoHour #macrohour #macromonday #natgeoyourshot
#macrophotography #niffeature2025 #biodiversity #entomology #insectsofindia #Himalayas #robberflies #diptera #IndiAves #channel169 #natgeoindia
Robber fly (Asilidae) preying on smaller fly, Caesar's Camp, Farnham, Surrey, UK, 8 August 2025. #ThePhotoHour #insects #robberflies #nature #wildlife
https://t.co/tJkgqhKDEs
https://t.co/b9Dc39ajI9
The heaths and chalk downland of Hampshire were home to some smart insects incl BEEWOLF, DOWNLAND ROBBERFLY, GREEN-EYED FLOWER BEE & TAWNY LONGHORN. #beetles #UKwildlife #Robberflies #insects #britishwildlife
I went back today to the beautiful wildflower meadow I visited last week, to see if I could find an insect I thought might be a Hornet Robberfly.
I managed to find the exact pile of pony dung it was on last week... and Bingo! A male, I think?
#Robberflies cc @StevenFalk1
About #robberflies, their #adaptations to the #predatory #lifestyle, their #phylogenetic position within the #Diptera and the #biology of the species #Tolmerus (#Machimus) #cingulatus.
Robber flies (#Asilidae, #Diptera) are often noticed by humans in their natural habitat because of their size, strong #claws, "humped" thorax area and relatively large #eyes. We can usually identify these insects well due to their frequently observed behavior of remaining in a #lurking position at elevated vantage points, such as tree stumps, fences or building walls, and then flying up at lightning speed at the appropriate moment.
The for their insect victims venomous Asilidae are adapted to kill their prey in flight. They are faced with the problem of having to hold onto the prey efficiently, but also kill it quickly so that they can start feeding on it straight away, which is then continued in a protected area. Losing prey that is still alive or dead would be a waste of energy that the animals cannot afford. A kind of stabbing apparatus has #evolved, formed mainly from the #hypopharynx and the #galeae, which impales the prey and holds it at the same time. The prey insect is grabbed with the claw legs, strong and densely growing #bristles in the area of the mouthparts additionally stabilize the prey in the claws of the robber fly.
The eggs of the Asilidae hatch into #larvae that live #underground, in the galleries of other insects or under #treebark, and prey on the eggs or offspring of other arthropods. I have not yet found any literature evidence of phoretic mites or nematodes on the developmental stages of the Asilidae, but there is evidence of entomoparasitic #nematodes of the #Steinernematidae (Rhabditida) in Asilidae larvae in Bulgaria. The author D. Gradinarov (2003) described corresponding finds in larval representatives of two robber fly genera. Steinernematidae nematodes are interesting from an #evolutionary point of view and in terms of their life strategy, I.a., because they live in #symbiosis with #bacteria that they release inside the #host, which then kill the host, while the nematode feeds primarily on the bacteria that they bring with them, which thrive in large numbers.
The robber fly species in my attached photo series is #Tolmeruscingulatus. This asilid species is widespread in the Palearctic region and is common in Central Europe. It is up to 15 mm long and inhabits forest edges and dry #meadows. The larvae develop in the soil. Although the species likes to prey in flight, the individual in photo 2 appeared to me to have landed next to potential prey, namely a grasshopper (#Chorthippus cf. albomarginatus) sitting on common #yarrow in #Berlin #urbanpark Rehberge. The asilid only landed after I discovered the grasshopper as a photo model, which gave me an interesting camera perspective. However, an attack by the fly did not happen.
According to various authors, #systematically and #phylogenetically, the Asilidae belong to the superordinate taxon #Asiloidea, with subtaxa, whose relationships in detail are not yet well phylogenetically understood. The sister group of the Asiloidea are the bee flies Bombyliidae. The relationships within the Asilidae were reconstructed using molecular data, for example by the authors C. M. Cohen et al. (2021).
© #StefanFWirth Berlin 2024
Sources:
D. Gradinarov (2003):
https://t.co/dqaUHQkvo6
C. M. Cohen et al. (2021):
https://t.co/kIO68qXQd7
Photos:
1-4) Tolmerus (Machimus) cingulatus,
2) grasshopper Chorthippus cf. albomarginatus
1-4) © Stefan F. Wirth 2024, park Rehberge Berlin
Fierce Predator
On a high perch watching for any likely prey. I've watched them catch flying insects too fast for my eye to realize they caught something until they land with the meal
Giant Robber Fly (Promachus hinei)
https://t.co/Ut7r4GFXen
#robberflies #macro #coolbugs
Hey, it's #WorldRobberflyDay
#Robberflies (Family #Assilidae) are marvelous flying #predators. With distinctive (to my ear!) buzzing, I can often tell when they are near. This mating pair posed for me in S. Illinois on a memorable trip. They love the camera!
Also from Porto Santo, Madeira, these robberflies, I think both the same species, although I don't know which. #Robberflies @kitenet
Did you know that #robberflies are incredible aerial hunters? They're often called the "assassins" of the insect world due to their agility and speed in capturing prey silently in their mid-flight. They are belonging from the family #Asilidae.
.
.#phdvoice
This pair of Asilidae have been hiding in the Therevidae accessions till today when a visitor plucked them out!
Still looking fab nearly 50 years on…
#robberflies #collections
📍🪰 Toxophora: Striking robber flies, found worldwide, with their vivid presence most abundant in the Southwestern United States and western Mediterranean 🌍
🎥: Marta Albareda
#Toxophora #Entomology #RobberFlies #Nature #Mondayvibes #X
Can anyone help me with a genus or species ID on this rather splendid robber fly from Blue Mountains NSW? #Asilidae #Robberflies
@Nottswildlife @thewildlifetrusts
🪰 Kite Tailed Robber fly
📆 6th August 2023
🌍 Idle Valley Nature Reserve
📱iPhone Capture
#fly #flies #robberfly #robberflies #insect #insects #nature #naturelover #naturelovers #allnature
#TwitterNatureCommunity
Peek-A-Boo With A Robber Fly
Think she was laying eggs. There is a line of eggs on the fence on left under the wire. Doesn't she have pretty eyes?
False Bee-Killer Robber Fly (Promachus bastardii)
https://t.co/wyM1DWWHsm
#NaturePhotography #RobberFlies #macro #eyes #CoolBugs #fly
Hanging Thief
On a fallen log. Probably looking for a meal. They get their name from their habit of hanging upside down by 1 foot from a twig while they subdue and eat their prey
Hanging Thief Robber Fly (Diogmites neoternatus)
https://t.co/pdAWuLJtxv
#robberflies #CoolBugs
#RobberFlies wait in ambush and catch their prey in flight. Like the dune robber fly, the #SulphurBeetle is a #coastal #species.
📸 Jamie Spensley, IG jamie_spensley_
#InsectWeek Over 18 Photo competition 2022
#Discover #Insects:
https://t.co/XpdJUJ3oyA
#InsectWeek #Diptera
Equal parts friendly muppet and terrifying monster, this hungry robberfly observed in Spain by
jjulio2000 is our observation of the day! https://t.co/S6Ix4aAoIR
#robberflies #spain #nature #biodiversity
I found this robberfly yesterday and I’m not quite sure what it is. The closest I can get to with a bit of research is female Slender-footed Robberfly (Leptarthrus brevirostis). Am I close? Thanks!
@SoldierfliesRS #Robberflies
#Sheepleas @StevenFalk1
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