I am so excited about all of the suggestions for my re-landscape project in the east garden. So today I was standing there looking at the area and looking around the secret garden when this rather large – about 2 inches – insect flew by and settled on a toyon leaf. I have no idea what it is. It looks kind of – dare I say – evil? Anyway, if anyone out there can help identify it I’d be most appreciative.
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| From Wild Suburbia |
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| From Wild Suburbia |
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| From Wild Suburbia |
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| From Wild Suburbia |
I'm afraid I won't be of any help with your mystery bug–I'm about as far from an entomologist as you can get. Your closeup photos one again remind me of how glad I'm much larger than most insects. (I don't think I'd cope very well with running into a six foot-tall version of this creature at the coffee shop…)
Looks like a dragonfly to me 🙂
Yes I was wondering whether it was newly emerged or something.
Possibly a robber fly?<br /><br />http://nathistoc.bio.uci.edu/diptera/Stenopogon.htm
Barbara,<br /><br />It is a robberfly, there are a lot of species and I could not guess which one. They will eat anything they can catch too.
Thanks to everyone – yes indeed it looks like a robber fly. And James, it is very good we are much larger than this formidable organism. According to wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asilidae)<br />"The short, strong proboscis is used to stab and inject victims with saliva containing neurotoxic and proteolytic enzymes which paralyze and digest the insides; the fly then sucks the
I love insect pictures. All the details and none of the actual proximity. I've gotten better about bugs but still… I'm with James. Actually I think your bug has quite nice eyes, not evil at all. After all we like hawks and look what they do to poor defenceless country mice! Oh, but I do like to anthropomorphize! Glad you got him IDed.
Thanks CM. Maybe evil was too strong a word. The whole concept of predators is something that seems to attract and repel at the same time. Probably because we have gotten so far away from the basis of our own sustenance. Anyway, I love seeing and photographing insects in my very own garden.
Here's a great resource for identifying bugs. This particular page is all kinds of Robber flies. If you send your photos, they will ID. Love your blog…first saw it tonight.
Hi Connie. Could you please send the resource for identifying bugs – I don't see it on your comment. Thanks.