false bee-killer

(Promachus bastardii)

Conservation Status
false bee-killer
Photo by Lindsay Freeland
  IUCN Red List

not listed

 
  NatureServe

not listed

 
  Minnesota

not listed

 
           
           
           
           
           
           
           
 
Description
 
 

False bee-killer is a large robber fly. It occurs in the United States east of the Great Plains and in adjacent Canadian provinces. It is most common in the southeastern states. It is uncommon in Minnesota.

Adults are 1 to 1¼ in length, the females a little larger than the males. The thorax is arched and stout. The abdomen is half cylindrical, rounded on top, flat below, widest at the base, and tapering to the tip. It is black above, brown below and on the sides. On the male there is a ring of white or yellow hairs at the rear margin of each of the first four or five abdominal segments, and a pair of white hair tufts above at the tip that can be easily seen when the male is in flight.

There are two large compound eyes and three small simple eyes (ocelli). The compound eyes extend above the level of the top of the head (vertex), making the head appear hollowed out between the eyes when viewed from the front. They do not meet at the top of the head on either sex. The ocelli are arranged in a triangle on a prominent rounded projection (tubercle) in the middle of the head between the compound eyes. The upper face is covered with long, erect hairs. There is a dense mustache of long stiff bristles (mystax) on the face between the compound eyes at the lower margin, and a cluster of forward-directed bristles (a “beard”) on the lower part of the face. The hairs on the upper face, the mystax, and the beard are all yellow or yellowish-white. The antennae are short and have 3 segments. The third segment is elongated but is not subdivided by rings (annulated) and does not have a long bristle (arista).

The legs are stout. The last part of the leg (tarsus), corresponding to the foot, has five segments. The last segment has 2 pads.

On the wing, the anal cell is longer than the second basal cell and is closed near the wing margin.

 
     
 

Size

 
 

Total length: 1 to 1¼

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
     
     
 
Habitat
 
 

 

 
     
 
Biology
 
 

Season

 
 

 

 
     
 

Behavior

 
 

They buzz loudly when flying.

 
     
 

Life Cycle

 
 

 

 
     
 

Larva Food

 
 

 

 
     
 

Adult Food

 
 

Bees and wasps

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

24, 27, 29, 30, 82, 83.

 
  6/26/2023      
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

 

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
 

Order

Diptera (flies)  
 

Suborder

Brachycera  
 

Infraorder

Asilomorpha (Orthorrhapha)  
 

Superfamily

Asiloidea  
 

Family

Asilidae (robber flies)  
 

Subfamily

Asilinae  
 

Tribe

Apocleini  
 

Genus

Promachus (giant robber flies)  
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

Asilus laevinus

Asilus ultimus

Promachus philadelphicus

Trupanea bastardii

Trupanea rubiginis

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

false bee-killer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Mystax

On flies, especially in the family Asilidae, a patch of bristles or hairs (mustache) immediately above the mouth.

 

Ocellus

Simple eye; an eye with a single lens. Plural: ocelli.

 

Tarsus

On insects, the last two to five subdivisions of the leg, attached to the tibia; the foot. On spiders, the last segment of the leg. Plural: tarsi.

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
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Jillian Meisel

 
    false bee-killer      
 

Lori Orrben

 
    false bee-killer      
 

Lindsay Freeland

 
 

the kids found it. Appeared to have an injured wing.

 
    false bee-killer      
           
 
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Other Videos
 
  Giant Robber Fly - Promachus Bastardii
Colette Micallef
 
   
 
About

Jan 21, 2015

Giant Robber Fly - Promachus Bastardii
Liberty County Texas
June 23, 2014

 

 

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Visitor Sightings
 
           
 

Report a sighting of this insect.

 
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Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Be sure to include a location.
 
  Jillian Meisel
6/25/2023

Location: Blaine, Mn

false bee-killer  
  Lori Orrben
6/22/2021

Location: Spring Lake Park in Anoka County

false bee-killer  
  Lindsay Freeland
7/27/2020

Location: New London, MN

the kids found it. Appeared to have an injured wing.

false bee-killer  
           
 
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Created: 8/23/2020

Last Updated:

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