Small Robber Fly with Lunch

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jmchaffie

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According to iNaturalist, this is Atomosia puella, a small species of robber fly. About the size of an uncooked grain of rice, ~ 7mm. The pale yellow club-shaped structure beneath the wing is called a haltere and provides sensory information about body rotations during flight. Don't know what he's got his proboscis stuck into ...

Doughton Park, Blue Ridge Parkway, NC

Panasonic G85 w/ Panasonic 45-175mm with Raynox M250, 1/60 f13 ISO 200, Handheld, Uncropped.

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I super example of keeping the target in the plane of focus! Well done!

The photo is also a great example of how shallow the focus point can be!!!!

In regards to the proboscis: As adults, robber flies dart from an exposed perch, snag, and stab insects with their pointy proboscis (tubelike mouth) as they fly past. The bite injects digestive saliva into the prey, immobilizing it, and the fly returns to its perch to finish its meal. Robber flies’ audacity is legendary; on the Internet, one can find many stories of robber flies attacking bees, wasps, large grasshoppers, even hummingbirds.


They are also known as: Assassin Flies
 
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