Philonicus albiceps

Philonicus albiceps is a species of 'robber flies' belonging to the family Asilidae. It is a Palearctic species with a limited distribution in Europe [1]

Philonicus albiceps
Philonicus albiceps Anglesey, North Wales.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Diptera
Family:
Asilidae
Genus:
Philonicus
Species:
P. albiceps
Binomial name
Philonicus albiceps
(Meigen, 1820)

Description

"Light yellowish grey, with the usual darker markings. Legs black. Scutellum with two pale marginal bristles.Ovipositor with a circlet of short spines".[2][3]

Biology

The habitat is coastal sand dunes, sitting on bare sand among marram (more rarely at sandy places inland). Prey includes Diptera, including smaller asilids, Hymenoptera and Odonata.[4]

References
  1. Fauna Europaea
  2. Verrall, G. H., 1909 Stratiomyidae and succeeding families of the Diptera Brachycera of Great Britain British flies Volume 5 London : Gurney and Jackson, 1909.BHL Full text with illustrations
  3. Harold Oldroyd, 1969 Diptera, Brachycera : section (a) : Tabanoidea and Asiloidea Handbooks for the identification of British insects, v. 9, pt. 4 Royal Entomological Society of London pdf Archived 2015-10-15 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Hobby, B.M., 1930 The British species of Asilidae (Diptera) and their prey. Trans. Entomol. Soc. of South England. No. 6. pp. 1-42.
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