Robber Fly

This robber fly is about 20mm in size, with grey/brown color. All its legs are grey. Its abdomen is long and half is extended longer than its wings. It captured a blowfly (Calliphoridae), but got distracted and flew away after I took 3 shots.

The Asilidae are also called assassin flies. They are powerfully built, bristly flies with short, sharp, stout sucking mouthparts. The name "robber flies" reflects their notoriously aggressive predatory habits; they feed mainly on other insects and they largely wait in ambush and catch their prey in flight.

Family Asilidae, Subfamily Laphriinae, Tribe Laphriini, Genus Laphria Meigen, 1803.

There are 3 Laphria spp listed in the catalogue as existing in the Philippines:
dimidiata Macquart, 1846 - Philippines; Indonesia (Maluku); Indonesia (Java).
taphia Walker, 1849 - Philippines; Indonesia (Maluku); Indonesia (Sulawesi).
vulcana Wiedemann, 1828 - Indonesia (Java); Indonesia (Maluku); Indonesia (Sumatra), Malaysia (Pen), Philippines, Taiwan.