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Thursday, October 15, 2009

Leaping Robber Fly

Robber flies are fast, fearless, and ferocious predators of the insect world. I thought it might be interesting to get a few photos of these little guys flying since they were fairly common where I was working in the high-desert of Washington.

Interesting yes, easy no.....

For an insect that has extremely agile flight capabilities, it sure is stubborn about not flying when ever I had my camera around. I did manage to get one leaping into flight from a patch of soil, but it took two days...

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Predacious robber fly (Efferia sp.)

I had to take an occasional break from the frustrating robber flies, so I took advantage of the wild mariposa lilies that were making their annual appearance.

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sagebrush Mariposa lily (Calochortus macrocarpus)

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Sagebrush Mariposa lily (Calochortus macrocarpus)

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Sagebrush Mariposa lily (Calochortus macrocarpus)

And managed to photograph a small native anthidium bee near a Salt heliotrope (Heliotropium Curassavicum) flower.
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Anthidium bee (Anthidium sp)

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Details About Me

Portland, Oregon, United States
Husband, Father, Student Of Natural History, Photographer