Monday, September 05, 2011

Robber Fly in Kentucky


While tending to the watermelon plants in Hodgenville, Kentucky, I came across a robber fly (maybe Atomosia puella).  It had taken a grasshopper that was larger than itself and was having trouble flying.  I was able to take these pictures.

One can see more information about these at the University of Kentucky Entomology web site: http://www.uky.edu/Ag/CritterFiles/casefile/insects/flies/robber/robber.htm

This web site shows a number of robber fly pictures which helped determine the species of this insect: http://www.pbase.com/tmurray74/robber_flies_asilidae

Unfortunately, the watermelon crop is one of the worst I have seen in many growing seasons.




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