Robber flies tend to have a dense mustache on their face
This large fly is known as the maroon-legged lion fly. It can be found throughout the United States of America and in southern Ontario of Canada. Its dispersion within the United States is east of the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachian Mountains. It is a species of robber fly, and it has the scientific name Promachus hinei.
The Asilidae family is the family of insects that robber flies belong to. The insects in this family are also known as assassin flies. Robber flies feed mainly on or exclusively on other insects. They typically wait in ambush and catch their prey in flight. They belong to the order Diptera, which is the order for true flies. They have stout, spiny legs and three simple eyes with two large compound eyes. Robber flies tend to have a dense mustache on their face that is composed of stiff bristles.
Robber flies are known to eat a wide range of prey. They have been known to capture other flies, beetles, butterflies, moths, various bees, ants, dragonflies, damselflies, wasps, grasshoppers, and some spiders. This widely varying diet is not opposed to the typical olfactory-based defense mechanisms that some insects implement—a.k.a. they’ll eat “smelly” bugs. They have been known to deliver painful bites to humans if they are handled without care. To capture their prey, they will stab it with its short, strong proboscis, and inject a neurotoxic and proteolytic saliva which paralyzes and begins to digest the victim. They will then suck the liquefied insides of their victim through the proboscis.
The lifecycle of a maroon-legged lion fly takes between one to three years. After hatching from the egg, this robber fly will progress through found larval stages and one pupa stage before becoming an adult. As in their adult stage, they are also predators during the juvenile stages, feeding mostly on insects. Female robber flies will lay white eggs on low-lying plants and grasses, or in cracks in soil, bark, or wood. These eggs are typically laid in masses.
To capture their prey, they will stab it with its short, strong proboscis
Did you know?
- During the pupa stage, they are “naked”, and therefore able to move.
- Adult maroon-legged robber flies prefer to hunt during the hottest hours of the day. They will go to open, sunny spaces to hunt.
- Maroon-legged lion flies have a light-brown abdomen with alternating dark rings.
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