Brown Heath Robberfly - Machimus cingulatus

Description

Size 10 to 15mm. A smallish robberfly with ringed legs. The femora are black on the anterior surface and orange of the posterior surface with an orange ring near the tip. The top of the thorax has a thick black central line.

Similar Species

Machimus atricapillus has almost all hairs at sides of frons black whereas M. cingulatus has them mostly white. The 'moustache' of M. atricapillus has denser and more numerous black bristles than that of M. cingulatusM. cingulatus also tends to have strong dark bands on the anterior surface of the mid and fore tibiae. See ID Aids below.

Identification difficulty
Identification aids

ID aid

image: Malcolm Smart

Recording advice

Good quality close-up photographs or a specimen are required.

Habitat

Warm, open fields such as grasslands and heaths where there is dry, sandy soil.

When to see it

June to October - peak in August.

Life History

The adult makes short darts to capture prey which mainly consists of smaller Diptera.

UK Status

Local

VC55 Status

Local

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2020+ | 2015-2019 | pre-2015

UK Map

Species profile

Common names
Brown Heath Robberfly
Species group:
Flies
Kingdom:
Animalia
Order:
Diptera
Family:
Asilidae
Records on NatureSpot:
4
First record:
06/08/2009 (Gould, David)
Last record:
01/08/2022 (Nicholls, David)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

10km squares with records

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