Asilus sericeus
| Asilus sericeus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| Family: | Asilidae |
| Genus: | Asilus |
| Species: | A. sericeus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Asilus sericeus Say, 1823
| |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Asilus sericeus is a species of robber fly in the family Asilidae.[1][2][3]
Identification:
Head: Covered with golden pile, including behind the eyes. Row of brownish bristles across back of head. Mustache (mystax) has a thin layer of very long brownish-yellow bristles.
Antenna: Base segments more brownish-yellow. Segment 3 long, black, with bristle at tip.
Thorax: Brownish-yellowish pile with wide dark stripe down center. Thorax sides more reddish-brown, no pile.
Wings: Light reddish-brown, cells along inner margin and wing tip dusky; veins wide, light reddish-brown. Halteres yellow.
Legs: Thighs (femora) reddish-brown, may have dark streak. Shins (tibiae) and feet pale yellowish. Last few segments of feet darker. Toes yellow. Only a few thin, short spines on legs.
Abdomen: Long, slightly tapering. Variable color, depending on light conditions. First 4 segments dark brown, lower margin golden. Last few segments lighter brown, barely marked on lower margin. Male tip spoon-shaped. Female tip long and sharply pointed, reddish-brown.
Similar Species: A larger robber fly than Machimus species, but similar. Appearance is more yellowish in color, including legs. Legs have very few bristles, unlike Machimus.
Size: 20 to 25 mm long.
Habitat: Wet meadows, especially with bracken fern.
Food: Butterflies and moths caught in mid-flight. Not known to feed on bees and wasps like other robber flies. Larvae feed on smaller, ground-dwelling insects. Mistakenly reported feeding on roots of rhubarb.
Flight Time: Mid June to late August; one report in November in Michigan.
Life Cycle: Larvae 18 – 20 mm long; grub-like, white, tinted yellowish. Head is brown with 2 small hooks. Lives about 16 cm underground. Pupates in late May, moving to surface to emerge by mid June.
Types:
Holotype as Asilus sericeus by Say, 1823. Type Locality: Pennsylvania. Type lost.
Holotype as Asilus herminius female by Walker, 1849. Type Locality: Massachusetts. In the British Museum of Natural History, London, England.
References:
Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 1823-24, Vol. 3 by Say, pg. 48.
List of the Specimens of Dipterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum, 1849, Pt. 2 by Walker, pg. 410.
Guide to the Study of Insects, 1869 by Packard, pg. 396.
The Kansas University Quarterly, 1893, Vol. 2 by Williston, pp. 68-69.
Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 1909, Vol. 2 by Hine, pg. 136.
The Great Lakes Entomologist, 1975, Vol. 8 #2 by Baker & Fischer, pg. 73.
References
- ^ a b "Asilus sericeus Report". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
- ^ "Asilus sericeus". GBIF. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
- ^ "Asilus sericeus species Information". BugGuide.net. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
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