Subfamily Bathypogoninae - Short-winged Robber Flies

Family Asilidae

This page contains pictures and information about Short-winged Robber Flies in subfamily Bathypogoninae that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.

The subfamily Bathypogoninae is confined to Australia and contains one single genus, Bathypogon. They can be recognized by their rather short wings and the characteristic wing vein patterns. Most of them are medium in size.



Short-winged Robber Flies are usually found resting near ground surface.


Black Short-winged Robber Fly

Bathypogon nigrinus, body length 18mm
This robber fly is medium in size and dark grey in colour. All its legs are dark grey. There is a white circle around the outer edge of its thorax. Its abdomen is long and half is extended longer than its wings. This robber fly likes to rest on the ground. Please check this page for more information.


Brown Shout-winged Robber Fly

Bathypogon sp., body length 15mm
This robber fly is medium in size and brown in colour. All its legs are brown to dark brown. Please check this page for more information.


Golden Shout-winged Robber Fly

Bathypogonbody length 15mm
This robber fly is medium in size and golden brown in colour. All its legs are yellowish-grey. Please check this page for more information.


Grey Short-winged Robber Fly

Bathypogon sp., body length 15mm
This robber fly is medium in size with grey colour body. All its legs are brown to dark brown. Wings are clear with pale brown vein. Please check this page for more information.

Reference:
1. Family ASILIDAE Robber Flies - Australian Biological Resources Study, Australian Faunal Directory.
2. Australian Asilidae - Dr. Robert Lavigne, Honorary Research Associate, South Australian Museum, Adelaide, SA.
3. A new species of Bathypogon Loew (Insecta: Diptera: Asilidae) from South Australia with notes on its behaviour - Lavigne, R.J. 2006, Studia dipterologica 13(2): 171-179.
4. Robber flies of the world. The genera of the family Asilidae - Hull, F.M. 1962, U. S. National Museum Bulletin 224. (Pts. 1 & 2). U. S. Govt. Printing Office.
5. A phylogenetic hypothesis for Asilidae based on a total evidence analysis of morphological and DNA sequence data (Insecta: Diptera: Brachycera: Asilidae) - Dikow, T. 2009, Organisms, Diversity & Evolution 9: 165–188.
6. Phylogeny of Asilidae inferred from morphological characters of imagines (Insecta: Diptera: Brachycera: Asiloidea) - Dikow, T. 2009, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 319: 1-175 [Date published 17 March 2009]