Order: Diptera
Family: Asilidae
Genus: Promachus
Flies of the Family Asilidae are known as Robber Flies and are fierce predators. These flies most often capture their prey in flight and do not hesitate to attack butterflies, dragonflies, grasshoppers, bees, nor wasps. The genus Promachus is widespread across the United States, and species within this genus are very similar to the one pictured here, with an elongate body and with eyes that bulge out far above the head. Members of the genus Promachus are among the largest and fiercest of the Asilidae.
Promachus species – Giant Robber Fly
Promachus species – Frontal view of the head
Promachus species – Side view of the head and thorax
Promachus species – Close up of walking appendage
Promachus genus on Bugguide.net
Asilidae family on Wikipedia
Sources
(2) Triplehorn, C.A. and N.F. Johnson, Borror and Delong’s Introduction to the Study of Insects, 7th ed., (2005), Thomson Brooks/Cole.
(3) A Catalog of the Diptera of America North of Mexico, Agriculture Handbook, no. 276, (1965), Washington D.C., Agricultural Research Service, pp. 400.
