Belongs within: Asiloidea.
Contains: Dioctriinae, Stenopogoninae, Laphriinae, Dasypogoninae, Apocleinae, Asilinae.
The Asilidae, robber flies, are a group of predatory flies characterised by a moustache of bristles across the lower margin of the face. They are divided between several subfamilies including the Leptogastrinae which are slender-bodied robber flies lacking alulae or pulvilli. In the mostly Neotropical genera Eurhabdus and Leptopteromyia, the wing venation is reduced with A1 being absent. The Trigonomiminae are generally small flies with large ‘goggle-eyes’ and lacking strong bristles on the thorax. The cosmopolitan, primarily arboreal Ommatius has a long, plumose apical flagellomere on the antenna and closed cell r1 in the wing (Fisher 2009).
Characters (Wood 1981): Small (3 mm) to very large (over 50 mm) flies, averaging 9-15 mm in length, long and slender to short, robust, and bee-like. Head with compound eyes large, usually widely separated, equally so in both sexes; eye facets enlarged medially; eye extending dorsally above level of vertex, causing vertex to appear excavated when viewed anteriorly; ocellar tubercle prominent; median ocellus enlarged; vestiture of ocellar tubercle of fine pile, often mixed with bristles. Face extensively developed, often convexly protuberant (gibbous); facial protuberance, or gibbosity, with a characteristic group of stout anteroventrally directed hairs or bristles, the mystax, arranged as a cluster on lower part of face. Clypeus reduced, concave or flat, folded posteroventrally below lower facial margin. Antenna held erect; scape and pedicel each usually with long or short pile, often with stout bristles; first flagellomere elongate or oval, pubescent or tomentose but without pile or bristles, usually longer than either scape or pedicel. Bent apical or subapical stylus usually present on first flagellomere, typically two-segmented, occasionally one-segmented, apparently absent in Laphriinae. A minute spine, often in a pit, present at apex of antenna on either first or succeeding flagellomeres. Mouthparts adapted for stabbing and sucking prey. Mandible absent; stabbing function performed by needle-like hypopharynx that injects a paralyzing saliva. Proboscis elongate, heavily sclerotized, formed from ventromedial fusion of prementum and labella as continuous tube open at apex and dorsomedially, enclosing maxillae and hypopharynx; tip of labella pointed or rounded, usually surrounded with sensory hairs; ventral surface of labella and most of prementum pilose. Palpus usually slender or clavate, setose. Thorax with notopleural, supra-alar, and postalar bristles almost always present; dorsocentral bristles usually present. Scutellum usually pruinose but sometimes shiny, almost always with hairs or bristles along its margin especially at apex; katatergite almost always with a row or group of bristles. Legs raptorial, stout, frequently with numerous stour bristles; all tibiae with several stout bristles at apices. Wing venation with R always four-branched, with R2+3 unbranched. Abdomen with dight segments usually present in both male and female, with remaining two segments incorporated into terminalia. Larva elongate, subcylindrical to somewhat dorsoventrally flattened, often tapering at each end; colour white to yellowish, sometimes with a few fine longitudinal streaks. Head capsule much narrower than prothorax, usually exerted, directed ventrally. Nine abdominal segments apparently present, with eighth and ninth partly fused; length of segments increasing toward seventh. Respiratory system functionally amphipneustic, although vestigial spiracles are present on first seven abdominal segments.
<==Asilidae
|--+--+--StenopogoninaeBT04
| | `--+--LaphriinaeBT04
| | `--DasypogoninaeBT04
| `--+--+--ApocleinaeBT04
| | `--+--AsilinaeBT04
| | `--OmmatiusF09 [OmmatiinaeBT04, Ommatiini]
| | |--O. mackayiZS10
| | |--O. megacephalusF09
| | `--O. tibialisW81
| `--Trigonomiminae [Damalinae, Damalini]F09
| |--HaplopogonW81
| |--Bromleyus flavidorsusW81
| |--HolcocephalaBT04
| | |--H. abdominalisBT04
| | `--H. affinisF09
| `--OrrhodopsF09
| |--O. americanusF09
| `--O. occidentalisF09
`--Leptogastrinae [Leptogastridae, Leptogastrini]BT04
|--Psilonyx annulatusF09 [=Leptogaster (Psilonyx) annulatusW81]
|--Beameromyia bifidaF09
|--Eurhabdus zephyreusF09
|--*Tipulogaster glabrataF09 [=Leptogaster (Tipulogaster) glabrataW81]
|--ApachekolosF09
| |--A. crinitusF09 [=Leptogaster (Apachekolos) crinitaW81]
| `--A. scapularisF09
|--SchildiaF09
| |--*S. microthoraxF09
| |--S. guatemalaeF09
| `--S. zonaeF09
|--LeptopteromyiaF09
| |--L. americanaF09
| |--L. argentinae Martin 1972M72
| |--L. gracilisF09
| |--L. mexicanaeF09
| `--L. peruaeF09
`--LeptogasterF09
|--*L. cylindricaF09 [=Gonypes cylindricusL49; incl. Dasypogon tipuloidesL49, G. tipuloidesG20]
|--L. flavipesF09
|--L. nigricornisK01
|--L. spinitarsisF09
`--L. titanus [=Tipulogaster titanus]F09
Asilidae incertae sedis:
Araripogon axelrodi Grimaldi 1990RJ93
DioctriinaeF09
Stizochimus salinatorZS10
BrachyrhopalaZS10
Deromyia discolorBM76
Coleomyia setigeraW81
Itolia maculataW81
Sintoria Hull 1962W72
|--*S. emeralda Hull 1962W72
|--S. cazieri Wilcox 1972W72
|--S. cyanea Wilcox 1972W72
|--S. lagunae Wilcox 1972W72
|--S. mojavae Wilcox 1972W72
|--S. pappi Wilcox 1972W72
`--S. rossi Wilcox 1972W72
HodophylaxW81
ParataracticusW81
Willistonina bilineataW81
Nannocyrtopogon neoculatusW81
Metapogon gilvipesW81
CallinicusW81
|--C. calcaneusL72
`--C. polleniusW81
Backomyia limpidipennisW81
Pritchardomyia vespoidesW81
Lophonotus punctipennisK01
Eutolmus sedakoffiK01
PhinocusBW09
Habropogon [Eremocneminae]J61
|--H. appendiculatusJ61
|--H. exquisitusJ61
`--H. striatusJ61
Selidopogon [Acanthocneminae]J61
|--S. crassusJ61
|--S. diademaJ61
`--S. octonotatusJ61
Codula limbipennisC91
Chrysopogon crabroniformisC91
BorapismaO98
CenochromyiaO98
ClariolaO98
DichaetothyreaO98
EpaphroditusO98
OphionomimaO98
Protoloewinella keilbachi Schumann 1984P92
*Type species of generic name indicated
References
[BM76] Bohart, R. M., & A. S. Menke. 1976. Sphecid Wasps of the World. University of California Press: Berkeley.
[BW09] Buck, M., N. E. Woodley, A. Borkent, D. M. Wood, T. Pape, J. R. Vockeroth, V. Michelsen & S. A. Marshall. 2009. Key to Diptera families—adults. In: Brown, B. V., A. Borkent, J. M. Cumming, D. M. Wood, N. E. Woodley & M. A. Zumbado (eds) Manual of Central American Diptera vol. 1 pp. 95–156. NRC Research Press: Ottawa.
[BT04] Bybee, S. M., S. D. Taylor, C. R. Nelson & M. F. Whiting. 2004. A phylogeny of robber flies (Diptera: Asilidae) at the subfamilial level: molecular evidence. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 30: 789–797.
[C91] CSIRO. 1991. The Insects of Australia: A textbook for students and research workers 2nd ed. vol. 1. Melbourne University Press: Carlton (Victoria).
[F09] Fisher, E. M. 2009. Asilidae (robber flies, assassin flies, moscas cazadoras, moscas ladronas). In: Brown, B. V., A. Borkent, J. M. Cumming, D. M. Wood, N. E. Woodley & M. A. Zumbado (eds) Manual of Central American Diptera vol. 1 pp. 585–632. NRC Research Press: Ottawa.
[G20] Goldfuss, G. A. 1820. Handbuch der Naturgeschichte vol. 3. Handbuch der Zoologie pt 1. Johann Leonhard Schrag: Nürnberg.
[J61] Janssens, E. 1961. Sur quelques asilides mediterranees. Boll. Mus. Civ. Venezia 14: 29–36.
[K01] Kertész, K. 1901. Legyek [Dipteren]. In: Horváth, G. (ed.) Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazása [Dritte Asiatische Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] vol. 2. Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazásának Állattani Eredményei [Zoologische Ergebnisse der Dritten Asiatischen Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] pp. 179–201. Victor Hornyánszky: Budapest, and Karl W. Hierseman: Leipzig.
[L72] Linsley, E. G. 1972. The robber fly Callinicus calcaneus (Loew) as a predator on Andrena omninigra Viereck (Diptera: Asilidae; Hymenoptera: Andrenidae). Pan-Pacific Entomologist 48 (2): 94–96.
[L49] Lucas, H. 1849. Exploration Scientifique de l’Algérie pendant les années 1840, 1841, 1842 publiée par ordre du gouvernement et avec le concours d’une commission académique. Sciences physiques. Zoologie. II. Histoire naturelle des animaux articulés. Troisième partie. Insectes (suite). Imprimerie Nationale: Paris.
[M72] Martin, C. H. 1972. A new species of Leptopteromyia (Diptera: Leptogastridae). Pan-Pacific Entomologist 48 (4): 270.
[O98] Oosterbroek, P. 1998. The Families of Diptera of the Malay Archipelago. Brill: Leiden.
[P92] Poinar, G. O., Jr. 1992. Life in Amber. Stanford University Press: Stanford.
[RJ93] Ross, A. J., & E. A. Jarzembowski. 1993. Arthropoda (Hexapoda; Insecta). In: Benton, M. J. (ed.) The Fossil Record 2 pp. 363–426. Chapman & Hall: London.
[W72] Wilcox, J. 1972. The genus Sintoria Hull (Diptera: Asilidae). Pan-Pacific Entomologist 48 (1): 51–58.
[W81] Wood, G. C. 1981. Asilidae. In: McAlpine, J. F., B. V. Peterson, G. E. Shewell, H. J. Teskey, J. R. Vockeroth & D. S. Wood (eds) Manual of Nearctic Diptera vol. 1 pp. 549–573. Research Branch, Agriculture Canada.
[ZS10] Zborowski, P., & R. Storey. 2010. A Field Guide to Insects in Australia 3rd ed. Reed New Holland: Sydney.