This fine fellow is machimus atricapillus, the Robber Fly. He perches waiting for a hapless and punier insect to fly by and then darts out – game over. He is not fussy in his choice of perch, even making use of handy humans, but he does not bite people. Here, he is enjoying a spot of evening sun in my garden.
Focused Moments 
Amazing details, Rachael!
Thank you, Gracie. 🙂
Love the backlit lighting on this one. Really highlights those little details. Beautiful. For a fly!
Beautiful shot. I have a soft spot for hard bodies (exoskeletons, that is).
Thanks! Plenty of those in this blog!
Well then, you can bet I’ll be back. I found your blog accidentally when I was checking my own tag (robber fly). I gasped at the beauty (I know, most people don’t do that with a dang fly). Your photo captures are right up my alley.
Hey…you might like this of my kids and bugs (http://wp.me/p28k6D-tU). You might say we’re missing the “ew-gross” gene.