Brown Black Robber Fly - Laphria reginae

Family Asilidae

This page contains pictures and information about Brown Black Robber Flies that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.


Body length 20mm

The Robber Fly is brownish-black. The abdomen is brownish back with yellow spots. There are the dense grey hairs behind head and under thorax. Wings are greyish-brown. All legs are shinny black in colour.



This Robber Fly likes to rest on the floor of footpath. We saw many of them in the rainforest near Mt Nebo on Jan 2005. The Robber Fly in the above photos had just captured a small black wasp.

The Robber Flies are air hunter. They also known as an Assassin Fly and Bee Killer. They have piercing mouth-parts and strong legs which can catch prey on flight.

Reference:
1. Insects of Australia, CSIRO, Division of Entomology, Melbourne University Press, 2nd Edition 1991, plate 5.
2. A review of Australian species of Laphria (Asilidae: Diptera), with descriptions of three new species from Lord Howe Island - Paramonov, S.J. 1958, Pacific Sci. 12: 92-105.