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Post by johnnyboy on Nov 5, 2011 17:48:08 GMT -8
The big fly on the left is a female Pantophthalmus bellaradii. The maggots live on wood, the adults don't feed. This specimen has a wingspan of 70mm + and is the largest "conventional-looking" fly species. The males are much smaller than the females but still large flies. Johnny Attachments:
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ckswank
Full Member
Posts: 239
Country: USA
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Post by ckswank on Nov 5, 2011 19:47:08 GMT -8
70 mm! That is huge for a fly!
Charlie
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Post by Chris Grinter on Nov 5, 2011 21:19:30 GMT -8
Wow! You should take a picture of one next to a common house fly for comparison, would be impressive.
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Post by johnnyboy on Nov 6, 2011 12:31:32 GMT -8
Yes, they are really big and impressive. I don't have any houseflies in my collection, in the spring I'll get one and post a comparative photo.
Johnny
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Post by jackblack on Nov 21, 2011 4:17:32 GMT -8
I have seen a larger fly here in Australia 8cm , but still havent managed to catch it yet , not very common and its predatory. Your fly is still very impressive  ! |
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Post by johnnyboy on Nov 21, 2011 14:35:40 GMT -8
You must be talking about your giant robber fly, Phellus olgae - I know it can get really massive - I've seen a life size illustration.
I've got a Blepharotes splendissimus I obtained from an Aussie friend in swap many years ago. That has a 6cm wingspan and is quite fat.
If you ever catch any Phellus olgae, and are prepared to sell or swap, I'd be interested!
Johnny
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Post by lucanidae25 on Nov 21, 2011 17:19:30 GMT -8
I only ever seen Phellus olgae once in the wild, they're found in the mallee country inland of Australia. They don't come out every year, they're normal out with all the other Temognatha sp because that's what they feed on (every 5-10 years). there's no way you can get with in 3 meters with out the robber fly flying off. The one I saw was feeding on one of the biggest Buprestidae in Australia Temognatha heros. Even with the wight of the Temognatha heros, it's only slow the robber fly a little bit in the air. They are supper fast and they use the tarsus to keep the elytra appart so the elytra dosen't cut off their proboscis while feeding. The only way you can possibly catch them is when they are mateing in the air or in the rain but dosen't rain that offen inland. I've caught other roober flies and they were hard enough to catch. They only have one blind spot from underneath. Attachments:
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Post by nomihoudai on Nov 21, 2011 18:57:09 GMT -8
Do any of these flies sting you or can they sting ? In South Europe we have horrible flies that constantly try to sting you and such large flies as this flying after you and trying to sting you would be one of the worst things I can imagine right now =/
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Post by lucanidae25 on Nov 21, 2011 19:46:38 GMT -8
These robber flies are harmless but not common at all. I'm lucky if I come across one or two a year. Most of them only like to catch and feed on large Buprestidae while they're flying in the air.
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Post by jackblack on Nov 22, 2011 3:02:07 GMT -8
The robber fly I mentioned is 8cm body length all black and sits on burnt black tree trunks in nth Qld very well camouflaged , it is an undescribed species I saw very few so far.Not one in my coll yet  It occurs in dry eucalypt forest. Although robber flies don`t hunt humans and sting them , they can give you a nasty sting with their proboscis and if they inject you with their venom you can develop a type of necrosis , so look out . Generally most of the large robber flies are difficult to catch because of their speed as one reader mentions , I have many people offering me good $`s for a specimen and only so far have a reprasentative of one spm some species in my collection , so they will be waiting a long time I think. |
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Post by johnnyboy on Nov 22, 2011 9:44:03 GMT -8
They look like great specimens, you have a fantastic insect fauna in Australia.  I attach a photo of my biggest Australian fly, a Blepharotes. I've got another, unidentified Aussie robber fly that's almost as big - it only cost me £1-00 at an insect show a couple of years ago. If the body length of the fly you've seen is 8cm then it is much bigger than any other known species. If you catch one you must post a picture here. It would certainly be worth alot. The best Aussie insect I have is a female Endoxyla cinereus, the world's heaviest moth. It cost me several hundreds of pounds in swaps - but it was worth it! Johnny Attachments:
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Post by lucanidae25 on Nov 22, 2011 14:59:11 GMT -8
£1-00 that is insane. Let me guess, did you get your robber fly from a butterfly dealer? Normally they don't know much outside of butterfly. You can't drive any where with just £1-00 for petrol in Australia. I guess it's very hard to know the difficulty of its biology by just looking at the specimens. I personally think all the giant robber flies are the hardest flying insect to catch in Australia. I have more Calodema than giant robber flies in my aussie collection. It's the predator to prey ratio and since their prey only abundance every 10 years. I still don't understand how the robber flies can time themselves with the their prey? Their larvae would have to be even feed on the their prey's larvae too. So they can sense the chemical change when their prey is pupating. Endoxyla cinereus is definitely much more easier to catch than robber flies. You wouldn't be able to get near the robber flies and even if it's sitting on a branch. If you sweep one way and it will fly the opposite way. I've found I'm not the only person with this idea from my own observation between giant robber flies and Temognatha. www.brisbaneinsects.com/brisbane_beetles/VariableJewel.htmOhh Johnny, you would be the perfect person to ask. Which is the biggest moth in the world Attacus atlas or Coscinocera hercules? Which is the biggest dragonfly in the world? Is it Petalura ingentissima from Australia? I have one specimen from Tawan is even bigger than the aussie one, 140mm wingspan and 110mm body length. |
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Post by lucanidae25 on Nov 23, 2011 4:58:39 GMT -8
After doing some research, I didn't even know I have a female Phellus olgae in my collection but the specimen I caught is a little bit smaller than I though it would be. It's definitely one of my favorite Aussie in my collection. Attachments:
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Post by johnnyboy on Nov 23, 2011 12:16:14 GMT -8
That is one beautiful fly!  Looks to be a perfect specimen as well, I'm really envious. With regard to whether Coscinocera hercules or Attacus atlas is the biggest moth (in terms of wing area), the official view from the NHM in London, which has a good number of both, is that C. hercules is the biggest. However, both are very variable in size and I have seen dinky little females of both, less than half the size of an average specimen. Having said that, the biggest moth, in wing area terms, that I have seen is a female Attacus caesar from Mindanao, illustrated life size, along with a variety of other insects, in a Japanese pamphlet. It has a forewing length of 147mm, so, taking the width of the body into account, would have a max wingpan of 12.5 inches. Much bigger than any other moth I know of. Johnny |
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Post by dragonflyer on Nov 23, 2011 13:03:30 GMT -8
Hi, concerning the dragonflies, females of P. ingentissima have a wingspan of up to 162 mm, the largest wingspan in Anisoptera is found in females of Tetracanthagyna plagiata, 163 mm. But P. ingentissima has a larger bodylength, about 125 mm which makes it one of the heaviest dragonflies. Which species do you have from Taiwan, Anotogaster sieboldii? The females are very large, too. In Zygoptera Megaloprepus caerulatus has a wingspan of more than 190 mm, bodylength around 120 mm. Mecistogaster lucretia has a bodylength of about 150 mm. All are very impressive species!!! Reference: ecoevo.uvigo.es/WDA/Agrion/Agrion_13_1_Jan2009_hq.pdfCheers Nic |
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Looks to be a perfect specimen as well, I'm really envious.