Bumblebee robberfly

Laphria flava · Order: Diptera · Family: Asilidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Bumblebee robberfly
Photo: Wolfgang Jauch, CC BY

The bumblebee robberfly is 12 to 25 mm long and strongly built. It is covered in dense yellow and black hairs that make it look like a bumblebee, with reddish hairs on abdominal segments 3 to 7.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

Dense yellow and black hairs give it a bumblebee appearance. Reddish hairs overlay orange on abdominal tergites 3 to 7.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

Body length varies from 12 to 25 mm and it is strongly built.

Source: Wikipedia

Lookalikes

It is difficult to separate from other Laphria species. Keys and illustrations for identification are provided by several authors.

Source: Wikipedia

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/Laphria_flava

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

Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.

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