Dune Robber Fly

Philonicus albiceps

Philonicus albiceps is a species of stiletto flies belonging to the family Asilidae. It is a Palearctic species with a limited distribution in Europe.
Dune Robber Fly feeding on fly Size of the predator is about < 1 cm, found on sand near a pond in the Netherlands. Dune Robberfly,Philonicus albiceps

Appearance

The Dune Robberfly is a dark grey robberfly. The markings on top are variable, but the legs are black, with a variable number of small brownish patches. The hairs on the legs are relatively long. Varies in size as well. The smallest animals are 12 millimeters, the biggest 20 millimeters. The males are smaller than the females.

Light yellowish grey, with the usual darker markings. Legs black. Scutellum with two pale marginal bristles. Ovipositor with a circlet of short spines.
Philonicus_albiceps  Dune Robberfly,Fall,Geotagged,Greece,Philonicus albiceps

Behavior

The habitat is coastal sand dunes, sitting on bare sand among marram (more rarely at sandy places inland). Prey includes Diptera, including smaller asilids, Hymenoptera and Odonata.

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.

http://www.gardensafari.nl/english/picpages/philonicus_albiceps.htm
Status: Unknown
EX EW CR EN VU NT LC
Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionArthropoda
ClassInsecta
OrderDiptera
FamilyAsilidae
GenusPhilonicus
Species
Photographed in
Greece
Netherlands