Robber fly
Asilidae
Robber fly · Brooklyn Botanic Garden · 13 August 2026
A robber fly on a lookout perch in the August border, family Asilidae, an ambush predator of other insects found on sunny open ground everywhere.
They take prey out of the air from a perch like this one, killing with a stabbing bite from a short, stout proboscis rather than the sponging mouthparts of most flies. The bearded face is a genuine adaptation: bristles that shield the eyes from a struggling victim.
Birds, insects, plants and other wildlife, mostly from Brooklyn, with some from further afield.
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