Ant-assassin Chiselmouth

Cerotainiops abdominalis · Order: Diptera · Family: Asilidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Ant-assassin Chiselmouth
Photo: Jay Pruett, CC BY

The ant-assassin chiselmouth mainly hunts Pogonomyrmex ants. When it gets hot, it will also eat beetles such as Collops limbellus.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

It prefers to prey on Pogonomyrmex ants. In high temperatures it switches to beetles like Collops limbellus.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 4 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Months it is reported in the US

JFMAMJJASOND

Source: GBIF

Same family (Asilidae)

Northeastern HammertailNortheastern HammertailEfferia aestuansHarmlessStripe-legged Robber FlyStripe-legged Robber FlyDioctria hyalipennisPlain-tailed Hanging ThiefPlain-tailed Hanging ThiefDiogmites neoternatusKite-tailed robberflyKite-tailed robberflyTolmerus atricapillusGolden-tailed BeebanditGolden-tailed BeebanditMallophora fautrixSand HammertailSand HammertailEfferia albibarbis

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerotainiops_abdominalis

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-27 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-27.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.