Cyrtopogon

Primarily found in boreal and montane habitats. This genus is very diverse in the western U.S. There are over 70 species in the U.S., but only six are eastern.

Cyrtopogon falto

Black with golden highlights. Golden mystax. All tibiae black on the apical half. Gray marks on abdomen confined to hind angle of each segment.

Size: 9-16 mm

Range: Eastern, midwestern, and northwestern US. and Canada. Its range in Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia is likely restricted to the higher elevations in those states.

FL Range: Unknown. Walker (1849) lists a Dasypogon (new species) specimen from St. John’s Bluff, Florida in the British Museum, which Bromley (1950) interpreted as Cyrtopogon falto. Other publications may have copied these, though Back (1909) attributes a Florida record to C. W. Johnson. This is primarily a more northern species, so these may be misattributed to Florida.

FL Season: Unknown

Other southeastern species

Cyrtopogon alleni

Grey stripes on black on scutum (top of thorax). Entirely dark chestnut colored legs. Dark mystax. Scutellum (structure behind scutum on thorax) with short white hairs. Pleurae white. Sides of abdomen with white hair (long on segments 1-3).

Size: 11.5-15 mm

Range: Canada and Eastern U.S. south to Georgia

Cyrtopogon laphriformis

Legs shining black. Extreme apices of femora and basal fourth of the tibiae reddish or deep orange. The apical reddish spots on the femora are nearly impossible to see in photos. Black scutum. Some orange pile (hairs) on abdomen, the extent varying with sex. Mystax black with some yellowish hairs.

I saw these ovipositing in the soft sand on a terrace along the Susquehanna River.

Size: 12-13.5 mm

Range: WI, NH, CY, OH, PA, MD, and VA

Cyrtopogon lutatius

White mystax. Legs black. Hypopleural hairs white. Tibial bristles white. First abdominal segment with entire fascia.

Size: 7-10 mm

Range: Canada and Eastern U.S. south to northern Georgia

Cyrtopogon lyratus

Scutellum (behind scutum on top of thorax) with long black hairs. Mystax and hypopleurae hairs black. “Notal pattern including mark like a tuning-fork.” (Melander, 1923)

Size: 13-14 mm

Range: Canada and Eastern U.S. south to Georgia

Cyrtopogon marginalis

Sides of scutum (top of thorax) shining. Apex of femora reddish. Tibia and tarsi reddish. Mystax mostly white. Long hairs on tibiae and pleurae.

Size: 10-12 mm

Range: Canada and Eastern U.S. south to Georgia

References:

Back, E. A. (1909). The robber-flies of America, north of Mexico, belonging to the subfamilies Leptogastrinae and Dasypogoninae. Transactions of the American Entomological Society (1890-), 35(2/3), 137-400.

Melander, A. L. (1923). The genus Cyrtopogon (Diptera; Asilidae). Psyche, 30(3-4), 102-119.

Wilcox, J., & Martin, C. H. (1936). A review of the genus Cyrtopogon Loew in North America (Diptera-Asilidae). Entomol. Am, 16, 1-95.

Walker, F. (1849). List of the Specimens of Dipterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum. (Vol. 4). Order of the Trustees.