When I first encountered two insects this past weekend at Huntley Meadows Park, I thought they were mating. Looking a little closer, I realized it was a robber fly and its prey, which, after some research, I conclude is probably a Striped Horse Fly (Tabanus lineola). In addition to its unusual eyes, check out the sharp mouth parts of the horse fly that are used, I believe, for biting. Ouch!
There is a whole family of robber flies, known as Asilidae, of varying sizes and shapes, including the Red-footed Cannibalfly that I have featured several times recently. This robber fly was considerably smaller than a Red-footed Cannibalfly, but has many of the same general characteristics. They both grasp their prey with their long legs and inject it with saliva that paralyzes the victim. The saliva eventually liquifies the insides of the prey and the robber fly sucks out the liquified material through its proboscis. I think that the robber fly in the photo was in the middle of that process when I spotted it.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Mike Powell 
This shot is incredible. It is pin sharp and so full of fascinating detail. I love that your photos capture behaviour and are not just portraits.
Thanks, Laura. I am amazed myself at the things that I manage to see and to capture with my camera and macro lens. Most folks know about how big a horse fly is, so it is a bit shocking to see something that tiny that close up. This is the kind of shot that I think your boys (at least some of them) would like.
Ha ha! Spot on. My kids loved it. Nature red in tooth and claw is definitely them. I do know horse flies well. They like to eat me. I get bad, cellulitis reactions to insect bites and horse flies are among the worst. We call them clegs in Scotland.