Stats

Lifespan

About 1 yr

Size

Medium

Diet

Insectivore

Activity

Diurnal

Social

Solitary

Biome

Temperate grassland

Range

Eastern North America

Movement

Flight

Breeding

Egg-laying

Defense

Speed

Status

Uncommon

About

The Northeastern Hammertail is a robber fly with a bristly, tapered abdomen and a dense mustache of stiff hairs that shields its face while it ambushes other flying insects mid-air. Like other robber flies, it stabs prey with a short, stout proboscis and injects saliva that liquefies the insides before feeding.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   egg

   A small egg is laid on or near the larval food source and hatches within days or weeks.
2. 2.
   juvenile

   An immature insect feeds and molts, growing through successive instars.
3. 3.
   subadult

   A near-adult insect has wing buds or near-mature form, one molt away from full size.
4. 4.
   adult

   Fully grown, with full wings and adult coloration.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Diptera

Family

Asilidae

Genus

Efferia

Species

Efferia aestuans