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Photo#27575
Friendly Robber - Efferia aestuans - male

Friendly Robber - Efferia aestuans - Male
Bedford, Westchester County, New York, USA
August 3, 2005
This character insisted on perching on my wife's ankle. She patiently posed with him for the photo then shooshed him off, he came right back like a booomerang.

Images of this individual: tag all
Friendly Robber - Efferia aestuans - male Friendly Robber - Efferia aestuans - male

Nerax
The Nerax are in the top group of human perchers among the robbers. They like vertical and horizontal perches. I can always lure them to my net handle and have had many land on me as well. This is likely N. [Efferia] aestuans again. They don't bite in this situation by the way.

 
Nerax
Thanks again Hershel. I didn't figure it would bite, but then I didn't realize that robbers ever bit people.

 
Bites
Well, they have a very nasty pointy injector. And apparently when you are handling the larger species alive they can inject/sting, whatever we wish to call it. Jeff Barnes, the robber main man here at the insect museum has been popped when taking one out of a net. He said it hurt for hours. Rob Cannings in BC insists they are harmless. I would not put a large Laphria inside my enclosed hand.

 
Anything that can bite, may do so
If it has capabilities, it is hard to label them as harmless, in my opinion, even if bites are rare.

I must admit whenever a large one lands on my hand my first instinct is to brush it off, but I developed that from horse fly experiences...

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