Sand Hammertail

Efferia albibarbis · Order: Diptera · Family: Asilidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Sand Hammertail
Photo: unknown, CC0

Efferia albibarbis is a robber fly belonging to the family Asilidae. It preys on the tiger beetle Cicindela hirticollis and the ground beetle Habroscelimorpha dorsalis dorsalis.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

It hunts and eats Cicindela hirticollis and Habroscelimorpha dorsalis dorsalis.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 40 of 51 states and DC. Most records: California, Texas, Arizona, Ohio, North Carolina, New York, New Mexico, Illinois.

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

Sand Hammertail photo 3
Photo: Mary K. Hanson, CC BY
Sand Hammertail photo 4
Photo: unknown, CC0
Sand Hammertail photo 5
Photo: Forest Botial-Jarvis, CC BY
Sand Hammertail photo 6
Photo: psweet, CC BY-SA

Questions people ask

What does the Sand Hammertail eat?

It feeds on the beetles Cicindela hirticollis and Habroscelimorpha dorsalis dorsalis.

Source: Wikipedia

What family does the Sand Hammertail belong to?

It is a member of the robber fly family Asilidae.

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 fautrixBlack-tailed LaphriaBlack-tailed LaphriaLaphria flavicollis

Sources

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

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

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

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.