Wow, I knew these things were incredible predators but i didnt realize they got that huge! I've caught smaller ones in Wisconsin but I've never been brave enough to try to handle one barehanded!
To run screaming towards the camera and make them stay still in his hand, I guess his communication skills must be top tier 🙃 I guess he made 4 great chatches, the flies, you, and the algorithm.
@@mysteriousstranger9521 There was a joke post that went around back on Tumblr that, because of how Spanish words are structured, that would mean "mosquito", Spanish for "little fly", has a larger variety known simply as "mosquo", which would just be a mosquito but larger. Because the robber fly looks so much like a mosquito, OP has decided that the robber fly is El Mosquo, or the larger variety of mosquito.
@@RipRLeeErmeyNot "mosquo" though, thath world be spelled "moskuo", these words normally shift to a 'C' whenever The vowel is anything but a 'e' or 'i'.
One of my earliest memories was running through a field as a little kid and witnessing a robber fly snatch a big green bottle fly out of the air right in front of me. Been fascinated with these critters ever since. No idea they could get this big.
Me in the Philippines I saw bigger than that when I was 11yrs old. a very massive size fly perched on our cow in the province. I can still picture it in my brain. Don't know If I discover a new species of Fly or what. Still wondering if it really exist till these day. Thats the biggest mistery of my childhood.
Most Predators (Including Humans) typically just laze around for most of the time, since it takes a lot of energy to chase prey in a burst of speed. Sometimes they can only get one chance.
Even though not many understand my obsession with these guys, I’m glad my excitement and fulfillment that came with this moment came over through the camera. Thanks so much
There are many species of flies that aren't attracted to poop or rotting meat. Many flies are bee mimics, and valuable pollinators. Look up "hover flies".
This is one of the best robber fly videos on the internet, I’m so glad that it is getting the recognition it deserves. Microstylum morosum, and pretty much every other invertebrate of the Great Plains, goes criminally under appreciated, and I literally don’t know where else I could go to get content this high quality, hilarious, and thoroughly enjoyable about animals like this. You are killin it man, looks like Evan and I need to come hit the plains sometime.
The Great Plains would love to have you! Some criminally underrated animals out there that need more people out there than just me filming them, thanks so much!
@@randall1959 Blessed to see so many, yet you swat them? How ungrateful. I mean I guess it'd be harder to blame if they tried to bite you, but still...
@@randall1959 I haven't, but I have been stung pretty bad by some yellowjackets, but that doesn't mean I swat them. It's possible to keep from being bitten without resorting to violence.
Amazing! I remember seeing my first Robberfly (much smaller) in Indiana years ago and being fascinated by why looked like a hybrid between a housefly and a dragon fly!
Those flies are beautiful. I've never thought that they would be so chill like that, considering that the common household flies just zip around. I wonder if one of these guys are strong and smart enough to take on an adult praying mantis.
That was always a time, birds evolved along with dinosaurs before their extinction and there were much larger insects nack them too. Its a myth that dinosaurs magiced into birds after their extinction or w/e.
@@CoperliteConsumer Indeed, the first birds appeared in the Jurassic Period long before the non-avian dinosaurs went extinct. I'm not sure what giant bugs you're thinking of though, by the time dinosaurs evolved arthropods were pretty normal-sized by modern standards. The last truly big "bugs" were a lineage of griffonflies that lasted into the Permian Period. My musing wasn't really implying anything pertaining to the evolutionary history of dinosaurs and insects per se.
I've never seen the likes of such in my 50+ years on this planet. I've almost no interest in Entomology, and so I thank you. You have a new subscriber today!
That's the biggest Robber Fly I've ever seen. I got bit by one as a kid and cried, LOL, but they're still one of my favorite predators. Can't believe you managed two on hand, that was great! Glad YT recommended, new sub now! Greetings form Houston.
So glad you enjoyed! I’ve never been bit but I’ve read from reports online that it’s shockingly painful haha. Glad those two weren’t willing to bite or I would’ve had a very bad day, more insect content coming!
@@thewildfilesofficial The Wild files meets the wild flies. Enjoyed your enthusiasm. I just did a video holding a Velvet Ant so I can relate on the hoping all goes well vibe xD Great vid!
@@genericalfishtycoon3853 Thanks! Velvet ants are awesome, I had filmed a video with one but I need to reshoot it with a bigger more impressive kind, best of luck to you!
I've read if you mishandle them they will bite, but otherwise they don't feed on human blood and wont bite for that purpose... so it's really whether they feel threatened by you. And yes, I've heard the bite is quite painful. Also, who knows how much energy or venom reserves they have so maybe they don't want to waste it. Sounds a lot like honeybees. They are quite easy to handle and wont really sting you unless threatened.
Some of the biting horse flies (tabanus atratus) here in northern Ontario,Canada get absolutely massive. They're usually an inch in length. But on occasion you'll find one hanging out on wall or parked vehicle (which they seem to be attracted to) that are almost two inches in length. You'll almost mistake them for a large moth if you didn't have a keen eye. I still, however, think robber flies are fascinating insects and how nature is made them into these incredible little flying predators.
@@thewildfilesofficial We also have those huge horse fly species. Even hornets are smaller than these monstrosities :D Luckily they are not much interested in humans, though may try to taste you and you certainly will not want to feel that.
Have you ever seen an ambush bug? They like to hunt on daisies so if find a good clump of daisies somewhere you'll more than likely find the ambush bug
@scottd.1700 well not really they're about the size of a ladybug and fairy easy to spot they're colors vary from light green and brown and they almost look like a little mantis
Awesome video! Robber flies are the coolest (gonna make a bunch of videos on them soon too). Both individuals you caught are females, the females of this species are more variable than the males. Males are pretty much always that black color with a thinner abdomen and more visible genitalia at the end of the abdomen. Super great video though, looking forward to seeing more stuff!!
You're really brave to hold those tiny monsters, I wouldn't want to have them anywhere near me let alone on my damn hand lol But, they do look very cool
That makes me so happy to hear! If you want to learn more (besides my shameless plug of my other robber fly videos) there’s a great field guide to the species in the Southwestern US that has great info on robber flies as a whole
I love your passion for these gorgeous insects! I've found a couple Robber Flies here in Houston hanging out near my apartment. Managed to get one to crawl on my fingers, then transported it over to a nearby tree where it walked up the trunk. Magical moment of interaction with a strange but beautiful creature.
Wow thank you so much! I’ve definitely been inspired by older Kratt brothers and Jeff Corwin shows and try to show off my enthusiasm as much as they did
Gauromydas heros lives in south American desert areas and gets to almost 3 inches long. The larvae eat ant larvae, the adult males drink nectar and the females don't eat at all that we know of, they're super rare.
I found one of these in ohio. Helped it off the hot sidewalk. The way it walks is so creepy. I picked it up and put it somewhere safe. It stayed the whole day on the branch i put it on. At the end of the day i put my hand out and it flew onto my hand. I know bugs dont really think but these are weird. Their head actually follows you when you move your head.
Liked and subscribed. So refreshing to see an up-and-coming channel about cool creepy crawlies with a real and passionate person holding the camera, instead of yet another soulless AI-generated garbage mill. Cheering for you from Chile!
This made me so happy to read! I really appreciate that and so glad you enjoy the content. I’m actually hopefully going to be filming the cool bugs of Chile in January so hope you enjoy those!
I've never heard of these things till now. That's pretty cool and those shots are great. I'm just glad these aren't the flies that get into my room at night.
We have these here in Kentucky. I had 3 of them land on me while I was mowing the day before yesterday. We only have 2 variants though, the Bearded Robber Fly and one that is called the Hanging Thief. Two of them stayed with me almost the entire time I was mowing until I got near the barn and apparently found some bugs or just wanted to leave.
Hanging theives are some of my favorite robberflies, these guys look kinda like them but just gigantic. I find that they hang around people to catch any insects that hop out of the grass as you’re walking through it. Really smart bugs!
The Prairie is such a magical place! Nothing beats the smell, sounds and colors. So sad that virtually all of them where I grew up have been paved over since I was a kid. Love this video!
It’s my all time favorite habitat, so sorry to hear the prairie where you’ve grown up is all but gone. I really hope we can try to preserve as much of this habitat that we can and I’m hoping videos showing the animals that lives there helps!
I love these guys to death, and it's a shame they're so underrated! Just a couple months ago, I was able to go down to a really backwoodsy state park and managed to catch a perfect picture of a D. platypterus doing the "hanging-thief" pose while it snacked on this little scarabid beetle it caught. Absolutely made the rest of my afternoon there.
1 minute in to my first of your videos I've seen and I'm subbed. It's obvious this is great content. Keep up the good work, I have faith you will grow relatively quickly.
Found one of these nightmares of the sky in my yard today and thought there was some strange hybrid of dragonfly and horsefly flying around. Great to know they're fairly indifferent towards humans, but you'll never see me voluntarily holding one of these hell spawn 😅 Awesome video though :)
I am blown away that they will just chill on your hand. Personally I’ve found that the larger the insect variety (or arachnid, etc) the more chill they are.
Look up hanging thieves, they're giant versions of robber flies except they look like they're doing gymnastics. I call them monkey flies because of that.
As someone who grew up in Kansas. I never thought these were too special. Just the occasional oh look at that big fly on the window and the day goes on. I had no idea it was the largest in our country or that it only lives a month. Though if you ever see the smaller striped wings flies just leave. The will bite the crap out of everyone.
Luckily these guys will eat those annoying striped flies haha. I’ve seen big robber flies before but these things were definitely something really special
YES! I’m so happy to find a video that shows appreciation for these guys. I work construction outdoors, and I learned about robber flies after watching one absolutely demolish a wasp. As wasps are territorial and freaking moody as heck, I’ve of course come to dislike them greatly, and as they say, the enemy of my enemy is my bestie. Love robber flies!!
That's what I'm saying... looking at those things I wouldn't want to hold them in my hand and wait for one of them to misconstrue any kind of movement purposeful or accidental for aggression and I end up getting bit just to be able to hold some over sized flies but I can appreciate them from here lol
@@eustacebagge7831 I was searching for crickets to feed my lizard in our field. Out of the corner of my eyes I remember seeing this weird looking fly so I picked it up and boom it latched right onto my finger and gave it a nibble
@cabriskus4700 lol I was wondering because they usually are pretty chill. Most bugs don't like getting grabbed. I assumed that their bite would be worse than a wasp sting but then again. They don't really have venom. Just digestive enzymes which to me sounds way more painful.
Great job bro. All my life I have seen variations of these animals .and have been bitten and stung buy thier cousins . I never knew the name of them so i called them Monkey flies because of the award flight patterns and it's appearance . But I respect them because of the irritation they can inflict . Thanks again for covering a side no one has bro. Keep up the good videos.
Found my way here after seeing a robber fly for the first time today in Sydney, Australia. Thumbs up for the blend of information and unbridled enthusiasm.
How do you get to the point where this doesn’t terrify you? Even watching the video (especially the zoomed in shots) filled me with anxiety. I also died a little inside when you described the feeling of the legs. 😭☠️
Haha I’ve just never had a fear of insects, I wish I could give you advice but I think learning about how cool they are and focusing on that rather than the fear might help
@@thewildfilesofficial Fair answer, kinda figured. Content and enthusiasm like yours helps with that, for sure. This was my first time seeing your vids, but it won’t be the last. Thanks for the response! 😁
The only fly I've seen that's weirder are the bat flies, these flies are definitely interesting, notice how under the wing there are the little door knob shape things I believe those are used for balance during flight, all flies and I believe only flies have this feature, bat flies are really weird cuz they don't even have wings but they still have the little door knob balancer things, very strange
Bat flies are definitely bizarre, I’m glad that video going around is making more people aware of them! The little knobs are called halteres and they’re remnants of another pair of wings flies used to have. You’re exactly right in that they help with balance!
Great video! During a particularly rainy season in S Texas, over about a week and a half I witnessed hundreds of them rise/ hatching from the ground during the cool early hours under a live oak tree. My photo submission was identified as the robber fly by a local entomologist. The most interesting bug found in my backyard ever 😂
One just landed next to me and just stared at me for a minute and then flew away but not before I got a good picture. I've never seen anything like one of those before and when I Googled it at first it said it was a giant mosquito.
@@thewildfilesofficial I'm a bigger fan of Arthropleura myself! Though almost all bugs are cool to me. Wish they didn't get such an irrational bad rep. Domestic animals like dogs and cats are more dangerous in general than almost any bug and yet they get treated so poorly.
@@dumblenutz5561 couldn’t agree more, people are always shocked when I pick up a wasp or a spider but people need to keep in mind that they aren’t dangerous whatsoever if you handle them gently and appreciate how cool they are
