Butterflyhunter

Asilus sericeus · Order: Diptera · Family: Asilidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Butterflyhunter
Photo: Jake McCumber, CC BY

Asilus sericeus is a robber-fly (family Asilidae). The underground larvae are 18 to 20 mm long.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

Asilus sericeus belongs to the robber-fly family Asilidae.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

The larvae are about 18 to 20 mm long.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

Adult butterflyhunters capture their prey while flying.

Source: Wikipedia

Life cycle

The larvae live underground and measure 18 to 20 mm.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 28 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New York, New Hampshire, Connecticut.

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

Source: GBIF

Status: native in North America; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Butterflyhunter photo 2
Photo: Steven Lamonde, CC BY
Butterflyhunter photo 3
Photo: Cole Wolf, CC BY
Butterflyhunter photo 4
Photo: Dennis Vollmar, CC BY
Butterflyhunter photo 5
Photo: Michelle Orcutt, CC BY

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/Asilus_sericeus

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

Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.

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.