|
| |
Family Asilidae
- This page contains pictures and information about Robber Flies in Subfamily Leptogasterinae
that we found
in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
-
- There is only on Australian genus, Leptogaster, in this subfamily.
They are small and very slender.
-
- Web Spider Killer
- Leptogaster sp., body length 15mm
- Insects are not always be the prey of spiders. Some insects attack spiders.
Robber Fly is one of those insects. On a early summer day afternoon, a medium
size Silver
Orb Wed spider was building its web. The spider had finished laying the
frame threads and radius of the web and about to put on the sticky spiral silk.
There was a medium size Robber Fly flying over the spider web. After the fly circled
two rounds, it attacked the spider on its abdomen. The fly punch its mouth
parts into the spider body. There was only very little struggling, then all
become motionless. The Robber Fly start feeding the spider on the unfinished
spider web. We believed if the spider web were finished, the Robber Fly may not win so
easily.
-
- 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.
-
[ Up ] [ Asilinae ] [ Ommatiinae ] [ Leptogasterinae ] [ Dasypogoninae ] [ Laphriinae ]
|
