Robber Fly

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Robber Fly
Robber Fly

Efferia helenae -- male

There was many of these large one inch or larger (25mm+) robber flies perching on the chalk columns at Monument Rocks.

They very closely resemble Efferia albibarbis but in my experience that species flies in July and these were flying in September. It's my observation that each robber fly species only flies for a few weeks to a month and then they are gone till the next year. They live short violent lives and during the course of a summer each habitat can support several similarly sized species in chronological order without too much overlap and competition.

These were perching in the shade and I was able to capture images both with and without flash. The biggest difference between the two appears to be the shiny black proboscis in this "with flash" photo. Colors are identical but in this photo the facial hair is also sharper with more contrast.

Id based on the work at OPSU.
www.opsu.edu/Academics/SciMathNurs/NaturalScience/PlantsI...

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Taken on: September 3, 2015
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Sets appears in:   • Efferia helenae   
Groups appears in:   • Asilidae (Robberflies)    • Only P.P.P.   
Camera: Canon EOS 7D, f/11.0, 1/160 sec, 200mm, ISO 800 (more info) (hide info)
Camera: Canon EOS 7D
Aperture: f/11.0
Exposure Time: 0.006 sec (1/160)
Focal Length: 200mm
ISO: 800
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: On, Fired
Exposure Mode: Manual
White Balance: Auto
Color Space: Uncalibrated
Software: Adobe Photoshop CS5 Windows
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