Robberfly

© Mallikarjuna.D.G. Robberfly(Diptera Asilidae) The fly family has a bad reputation. It includes most of the insects - such as the housefly, mosquitoes, and the tsetsefly that transmit human diseases. Robberfly has been called a bearded bandit, a blood thirsty pirate, an assassin – and it is, in the insect world. But it is a friend of mankind. Robberflies do not attack man. Their victims are other flying insects, captured on the wing or small spiders. They are capable of immobilizing bees, wasps and other insects larger than itself. They catch their prey in midair. Robberflies are active sun-loving insects that prefer dry open areas, fields, pastures, sandy places, openings or roads in woodlands and bushy country. Most of them are slender and stream lined, with a long tapering abdomen. The head is very large with two great eyes, each containing several thousand separate lenses, which provide remarkable vision enabling the robberfly to spot a small insect at a considerable distance. Underneath its bushy beard, the Robberfly has a stout beak enclosing a dagger-like shaft used to stab the victim in the head or thorax and inject a fluid which kills it. This fluid, apparently, soon causes the victim’s “insides” to become liquid and the Robberfly, on some favorite perch, then proceeds to suck it dry, leaving nothing but an empty shell. The larvae or maggots live in soil or rotting wood, preying upon other larvae and preyed upon by their own enemies. As their common name implies, Robberflies have voracious appetites and feed on a vast array of other arthropods, which may help to maintain a healthy balance between insect populations in various habitats. Viewed 2159 Times | Comments (0)

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