Giant Yellow Robber Fly - Blepharotes coriarius
Family Asilidae
This page contains pictures and information about Giant Yellow Robber Flies
that we found
in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
- Body length 45mm, female
- A large bright yellow insect flied pass by and rest high on a tree trunk with the very loud buzzing sound. From its size and yellow fur body we thought it might be a large Carpenter Bee. When it rested on a tree trunk (about picture) we recognized it was the Giant Yellow Robber Fly.
- Jan 2007,Karawatha Forest, female
- We saw this Large Yellow Robber Fly a few times in Karawatha Forest, from mid to late summer. It usually rested on large gum tree trunk.
- Dec 2007,Karawatha Forest, male
- This Large Robber Fly looks similar to the Giant Robber File, this fly is about the same giant size or a little bit smaller. The upper side of the abdomen is golden yellow and the hairs on its legs are black in colours. The wings are tinted in smoky brown colour. The other parts of its body are all black.
- Jan 2008, Karawatha Forest, male
- This Large Yellow Robber Fly is always in very high alert, will fly away even if we carefully come close with a few meters. We are still trying to shot a better picture.
- End Jan 2008, Karawatha Forest, male
- Jan 2009, Ford Road Conservation Area, male
- End Jan 2009, Ford Road Conservation Area, female
- We found that this Giant Yellow Robber Fly is quite common in Brisbane Eucalypt forests. The only problem is to take their photos and confirm the seeing. During summer season, almost every time when we were in the middle of a Eucalypt forest, we saw this fly. Actually it was the fly who found us and not we found it. Every time of the encounter, we heard a loud buzzing noise then we saw this fly flied pass and rested about two to three meters away. It usually flied away within a few seconds, just not enough time to take any photos. Then the fly never came back. We believe every time the situation was we entered its territory and the giant fly came to check what we were. It then found out that we were nothing about its concerns and it left us alone.
- Dec 2009, Daisy Hills Buhot Creek. male
- Dec 2009, Anstead Forest, no photos taken.
- Early Jan 2010, Carbrook Wetland, male Mid Jan 2010, Karawatha Forest, male Nov 2011 Anstead Forest
- Dec 2012 Karawatha Forest Jan 2013 Anstead Forest Jan 2013 Karawatha Forest
- Reference:
- 1. Insects of Australia, CSIRO, Division of Entomology, Melbourne University Press, 2nd Edition 1991, p 758.
- 2. Insects of Australia and New Zealand - R. J. Tillyard, Angus & Robertson, Ltd, Sydney, 1926, p363 Plate 20 (Blepharotes coriareus).
- 3. Australian Insects, An Introductory Handbook - Keith C. McKeown, 1945, p225.
- 4. Blepharotes coriarius, (Wiedemann, 1830) - Robber Fly, ink on clay-coated paper, by Geoff Thompson, Queensland Museum 1990.
- 5. A revision of Neoaratus Ricardo, with the description of six allied new genera from the Australian region (Diptera : Asilidae : Asilini) - G Daniels, 1987.
- 6. Asilini - Australian Asilidae - Dr. Robert Lavigne, Honorary Research Associate, South Australian Museum, Adelaide, SA.
- 1. Insects of Australia, CSIRO, Division of Entomology, Melbourne University Press, 2nd Edition 1991, p 758.
