6-Legged Coyote
Yes, it is a predator.
Yes, it does have 6 legs.
No, it’s not really a coyote.
It’s like a coyote.
It is an insect like a coyote.
Stealthy, always lurking about…seeking an opportunity for a meal of insect.
If it is an insect the robber fly will likely eat it.
Since this is an organized document, here they are in alphabetical order: bees, beetles, dragonflies, other flies, grasshoppers, leafhoppers, wasps, and other insects.
You just read that without your mouth open in awe?
This INSECT eats bumble bees! It eats bees, and wasps…all have stingers. Most of them are large strong flying insects.
Repeating, the robber fly can EAT them.
You don’t have to have your jaw dropped…but being amazed would be good.
This means we are talking about a carnivorous insect.
Coyotes are carnivores.
Yes…the robber fly is like a 6-legged coyote.
Robber fly larva begin life underground.
They emerge from the egg as slender shiny white larva.
They continue life by eating other insect larva and insect eggs found underground with them.
Most robber fly larva spend nearly 12 months underground before becoming adults.
Time for the splendid stuff.
Adult robber flies are beautiful.
They are designed to be camouflaged.
They blend in on the plant stems where they hide in wait for an unsuspecting bumble bee or wasp.
Fact-robber fly camo is beautiful.
Its eyes are compound and iridescent.
See those big kaleidoscopic orbs?
That’s why it is called a fly…flies have large eyes.
And…6-legged coyotes need great vision.
More splendid stuff…
While coyotes have fangs…robber flies have a piercing mouth.
The mouth pierces the insect, then the robber fly injects a fluid into its prey.
This fluid LIQUIFIES the insides of the prey…
You might think of it as an insect flavored shake.
When things are liquid…it doesn’t take long…the robber fly has a nutritious drink.
Wait a minute, how do they make that liquifying stuff?
Certainly splendid. There’s more.
Robber flies catch their prey in the air.
See the spines on its legs?
Spiny legs help to hold the prey
A robber fly makes a noticeable sound when it takes to the air…it’s a loud clacking buzz.
Hear it and look for the predator perched on a plant stem.
The plant stem is often part of a plant species in bloom.
Bees and wasps are attracted to the blossoms…
the 6-legged coyote comes for the pollinators.
While robber flies do eat pollinators…they create greater balance within insect populations.
Robber flies fulfill the role of a predator.
Bee and wasp populations are healthier with robber flies in their food chains.
It is robber fly season.
Never seen one?
Take my counsel …make an effort to locate this unique predator.
Go to a prairie, or another sunny area with flowers…robber flies are likely residents.
Expand your world-add more beauty and wonder…robber flies are both.
They are easier to find than the coyote.
“By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.” Hebrews 11:3
(Best Answer? God made the injection fluid.)