Robber Fly - Asildae Family

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I was picking Hawthorne haws next to the garden and my oldest son was out with me. He started excitedly saying, "I saw a wild creature". I looked around to see what he saw but didn't see anything until he pointed it out. The Robber Fly had landed on an old electric fence post insulator that I have tacked to a saw horse. It was sitting really still so I had an opportunity to run to the house and grab my camera.

^{f/5.6 ISO-800 1/1250sec @140mm}

The Robber Fly flew around and then landed right back in the same area, this time when it landed it held its front left leg in the air. I then noticed that it was missing the lowest segment of the leg. The Robber Fly seemed to be showing me that it was injured, holding its arm in the air, waving it around a bit, and it would happen each time it landed. It could have just been normal movements but it was still interesting to see each time.

^{f/5.6 ISO-800 1/100sec @140mm}

This image shows the leg with the missing segment. I would think that there are primarily birds as predators, but maybe a bee could inflict that kind of damage when getting attacked.

^{f/5.6 ISO-800 1/250sec @140mm}

I really like how fuzzy the Robber Flies are. They all have the super scruffy look, all unkempt and wild, and the mustache isn't a problem since their proboscis extends beyond it. They probably don't even get bug juices on their staches.

^{f/5.6 ISO-800 1/320sec @140mm}

Camera: Nikon D7200 w/ AF-S DX 18-140mm/3.5-5.6G ED VR
Processed with: Photoshop CS6

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Being a Father and a Farmer can be a struggle	Gardener Gripe - "#gardenergripe"
Time	#1.0 - Back Pain
Expectations	#2.0 - Weeds
Patience	#3.0 - Pests - Gophers

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