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robber fly

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Wikipedia 0.04 sec.

robber fly

 or assassin fly

Enlarge picture
Robber fly (Asilidae)
(credit: William E. Ferguson)
Any of about 4,000 species of predatory dipterans in the family Asilidae, found worldwide. Robber flies are the largest of all dipterans; some species are 3 in. (8 cm) long. Most have a dull-coloured, stout body resembling that of a bumblebee and a moustache of bristles between the large-faceted eyes. They use their long legs to capture insects in flight and hold them while eating; a fluid injected into the victim breaks down muscle tissue. A few species are serious pests of apiaries.



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Others seem to be camp followers, such as a species of a robber fly that preys on the Melanophila beetles.
Why fly into a forest fire?; it's one way to meet a lot of great bugs by Milius, Susan / Science News
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