Bug FAQDesert Marauder
Proctacanthus nearno · Order: Diptera · Family: Asilidae
The Desert Marauder (Proctacanthus nearno) is a species of robber fly in the family Asilidae. All available sources describe it only as a robber fly without giving details on its habits, impact, or control.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Proctacanthus nearno belongs to the robber fly family Asilidae.
Source: Wikipedia
Is it a pest in the house?
It is listed as a robber fly, with no specific household pest information.
Source: Wikipedia
Can it bite, sting or make you sick?
Robber flies are noted in the source, but no bite or sting details are given.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Its life cycle follows the pattern of robber flies.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
It is active during the seasons when robber flies are seen.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
It may be confused with other robber flies.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 8 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Utah, New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, Colorado.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What kind of insect is the Desert Marauder?
It is a robber fly, a member of the Asilidae family.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Asilidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proctacanthus_nearno
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-26 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-26.