At first glance you might think that the insect in this photo is a dragonfly, especially if you know how much I like dragonflies. If you look a little more closely, you will see that the wings are completely different from those of a dragonfly. This is actually a Red-footed Cannibalfly (Promachus rufipes), one of the coolest and creepiest insects that you can encounter in the wild.
Red-footed Cannibalflies, a type of robber fly, usually feed on other insects, but they reportedly are capable of taking down a hummingbird. Thankfully I have never seen that happen, since I really like hummingbirds, but several years ago I did photograph a Red-footed Cannibalfly with a large Hummingbird Moth that it had captured (see my 2017 posting Demise of a hummingbird moth).
I have a special relationship with this insect with the macabre moniker. In August 2013 I did a posting with the fairly basic title of Red-footed Cannibalfly. The posting was a modest success and had 61 views in 2013. Since that time, though, the posting has generated a lot of interest, primarily as a result of internet searches, and the total number of views has risen to 2,842, which makes it the second most viewed posting of my more than four thousand postings to date. Yikes!
I spotted this Red-footed Cannibalfly last Thursday as I was exploring a small pond in Prince William County, Virginia. I am always amazed at the relative bulkiness of this insect compared to the average dragonfly and thought that it might have captured a prey. A closer examination of the Red-footed Cannibalfly showed that it was empty-handed or maybe I should more properly say empty-footed.
In the back of my mind I hear the words of the Wikipedia description of a robber fly attack that I included in the 2013 posting, “The fly attacks its prey by stabbing it with its short, strong proboscis injecting the victim with saliva containing neurotoxic and proteolytic enzymes which very rapidly paralyze the victim and soon digest the insides; the fly then sucks the liquefied material through the proboscis.” It is enough to give a person nightmares.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
when I saw your other post with the dragonfly I silently said..wow.. I wonder how his mind works, how he actually goes about getting a picture of such a lovely little creature.. Honestly one could land on my windshield and I wouldn’t even really know what it was, except it flew there, and will fly away again.., kudos.. this is what makes the world such an interesting place. we are all so unique. — waves good morning.
Thanks for your fascinating comment. I have to admit that tend to react a bit differently from many others when I have my camera in my hand. I will only marvel in wonder for a very short period of time before I am starting to analyze the situation and trying to figure out how to get a photo. Sometimes it is a matter of reacting quickly to get a shot, while at other times I am moving to get a better angle or to get closer. It is hard to explain, but hopefully my blog postings provide at least a hint of how my mind is processing the information.
Mean looking beast! And reading what it does to its preys confirms that impression!
As I like to say sometimes, I am really glad they are not larger–then I would be really creeped out.
Wow! What a handsome little beast! I envy this, Mike. 🙂
Thanks, Steve.
It’s definitely not a dragonfly! LOL! But it is a pretty little thing. We have robber flies down here in Florida, too, and you’re right, the way the kill and eat their prey is the stuff of nightmares. Nature definitely has a cruel streak!
For what it’s worth, many spiders use a similar method to devour prey. In some ways it is a matter of perspective. I eat meat and am quite aware that the animals, which we don’t actually acknowledge are “prey,” are sometimes killed in ways that are cruel and barbaric. All creatures have to eat, so I try not to feel too emotional when I see a heron swallow a fish or a spider snag a butterfly.
Very nice Mike! Plus a very interesting photo subject! Never saw one before!
Thanks, Reed. These are strange beasts and they seem to be particularly active at around this time each year.
Above China Dream was curious of how your mind works… I’m just plain terrified 😳😳
Sometimes it’s best not to know what is going through the mind of another photographer. 🙂
😂😂😂😂
Excellent
Thanks.
Weird one. Think I will begin catching up from here.
They are definitely pretty strange creatures. 🙂