We found this monstrous insect at Duke Farms a few weeks back (photo by Mike Van Clef):
Its a robber-fly (family Asilidae). It was later identified (not by me) as Promachus vertebratus, a species for which only two previous NJ records exist! There is nothing for scale in that photo, but this thing was huge; 2-2 1/2 inches from head to tail. According to the first site I pulled up on google by searching Asilidae, these guys are top predators in the insect world. Wikipedia tell me they capture prey using their legs and then inject a mixture of neurotoxin and digestive enzymes directly into the body using their piercing mouthparts.
Man, why do I bother with plants and birds? I'm going to become a Dipterist!
3 comments:
Typo corrected!
Vertabratus - now that's scary, a predator fly with a backbone! Reminds me that the other day I was observing tree swallows all around me at Sandy Hook (at my level, not overhead), and I observed several dragonflies hawking insects along with the swallows.
Great post! In Arkansas, where I grew up, you can sometimes hear a robberfly hit its prey in the air. Very cool.
I'm enjoying your informative blog!
-- John W.
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