Lasiopogon

Small robber flies hunting shorelines and rocks. They can be ubiquitous when you find them. None are known from Florida. The four Georgia species are included here. They can be difficult to separate from photos considering how small they are.

Lasiopogon currani

Dark haltere knob (only eastern species with dark knob. Others are L. fumipennis, L. lichtwardti). Mystax brown. Tibiae and tarsi often reddish. Abdominal segments brown basally with gray apical bands covering more than 0.5 times the length of the segment. Third antennal joint (F1) mostly reddish. The entire ventral part of the ovipositor is reddish.

Length: 7-9 mm

Range: Eastern U.S. and Canada (ON and NH south to GA). Appalachians and east.

Season: April – June

First photo by jmass (iNaturalist, CC BY-NC), others by Tristan McKnight (iNaturalist 1, 2, CC BY-NC)

Lasiopogon opaculus

Halter white to yellowish brown. Dark mystax, dark hairs on legs. Thorax brownish. Gray apical bands covering 0.2-0.5 length of each segment. Occurs along streamsides in deciduous woodland, dunes near lakeshores, and sandy grasslands.

Size: 9-12 mm

Range: Eastern U.S. and Canada

Season: March 24 – June 3 in south, April 29 to July 1 in north

Lasiopogon schizopygus

Halter white to yellowish brown. Gray apical bands on abdominal segments very narrow (0.1-0.2 times length of segment). Legs and genitalia brown/black. Occurs in riparian areas.

Size: 8-11.5 mm

Range: Southeast (MS, GA, SC, NC). Mountains and Piedmont.

Season: March 23 – June 13

Lasiopogon shermani

Halter white to yellowish brown. Mystax dark brown or black. Tibiae reddish on basal half to two-thirds of their length. Genitalia reddish. Only eighth sternite (venter) of ovipositor reddish. Occurs in riparian areas.

Length: 8-11 mm

Range: Southern Appalachians (GA, SC, NC)

Season: March 26 to May 18

References

Cannings, R. A. (1999). The systematics of Lasiopogon Loew (Diptera: Asilidae) (Doctoral dissertation, University of Guelph).

Cole, F. R., & Wilcox, J. (1938). The genera Lasiopogon Loew and Alexiopogon Curran in North America (Diptera-Asilidae). Entomologica Americana, 43, 1-91.

McKnight, T. A., & Cannings, R. A. (2020). Molecular phylogeny of the genus Lasiopogon (Diptera: Asilidae) and a taxonomic revision of the bivittatus section. Zootaxa, 4835(1), zootaxa-4835.

Melander, A. L. (1923). The genus Lasiopogon (Diptera, Asilidae). Psyche, 30(5), 135-145.