Robber Fly - Stenopogon californiae

Leafhopper?

Hello, Hartmut. Just taking a look at your fine image and thought I'd offer up my guess as to the identity of the prey item. Looks like a cicadellid to me -- back end pointing towards the camera, front end being speared by the fly.

… Harsi S. Parker, 7 December, 2010 - 8:52pm

I think you're correct, Harsi -

I just didn't think it could be identified, considering how little is visible.

… Hartmut Wisch, 8 December, 2010 - 2:19pm

Moved

Moved from Stenopogon.

… Hartmut Wisch, 30 June, 2010 - 12:00pm

Hartmut: yes, this is a male

Hartmut: yes, this is a male Stenopogon californiae.

… Eric Fisher, 30 June, 2010 - 10:34am

Thanks, Eric,

for the ID. I didn't think it was possible without examining the actual specimen, but I guess with your experience you've probably accumulated other characters for recognition.

… Hartmut Wisch, 30 June, 2010 - 12:00pm

You are correct about the dif

You are correct about the difficulty of identifying some species of Stenopogon from photos (some are difficult even from specimens!). An excellent photograph (like yours) and a good reference collection are very helpful.

… Eric Fisher, 2 July, 2010 - 8:18pm

Cal Robbers

This does appear very Promachoid. However, the California robber list is immense. And I mean immense. There are about 900 NA robbers and 500 of them are in California. I will look at the possible Promachus later. Surely this bright red guy is distinctive, though you never know.

And yes, Geller-Grimm's site is the place to start for robber terminology.

… Herschel Raney, 15 July, 2005 - 8:09am

A HOX on all of our genomes...

For those of you non-geneticists out there, (myself included), here are some links on HOX (homeobox) genes. These are important in development of animals, and were first identified in fruit flies Drosophila, by my genetics professor at Caltech, Ed Lewis.

Flies Are Us--excellent summary, discusses significance of discoveries in fly genetics for human biology
PBS document, accompanies the series Evolution.
Order, it's in the development--Nature article, talks about the history of the homeobox and related work
Very technical article from Univ. of Calgary, part of The Virtual Embryo

Disclaimer: I only took the one undergraduate course in genetics, and am very much an amateur. Dr. Lewis did not get into his work on the homeobox genes at that time--too advanced for an undergraduate course. His lab's Drosophila were always flying down the halls of the biology building. I never did catch one to notice if it had the mutation with the leg coming out where an antenna should be. I've got to go back to Southern California and look at bugs--I just did birding when I lived there. Patrick Coin Durham, North Carolina

… Cotinis, 15 July, 2005 - 6:46am