The Manx robber fly (''Machimus cowini'', gv, quaillag roosteyr Manninagh) is one of 7,100 species of

robber fly The Asilidae are the robber fly family, also called assassin flies. They are powerfully built, bristly flies with a short, stout proboscis enclosing the sharp, sucking hypopharynx. The name "robber flies" reflects their notoriously aggressive pre ...

Asilidae The Asilidae are the robber fly family, also called assassin flies. They are powerfully built, bristly flies with a short, stout proboscis enclosing the sharp, sucking hypopharynx. The name "robber flies" reflects their notoriously aggressive ...

known throughout the world, and one of 28 asilids known to occur in the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles (O ...

Distribution and habitat

The Manx robber fly was first discovered on the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = " O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europ ...

in the 1940s, hence the name 'Manx', meaning from the Isle of Man, although this species has been referred to as the Irish robber fly in '' British Soldierflies and their Allies''. It was originally thought to be

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

to the island but has since also been found across the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...

sand dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

s on the east coast of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. There is only one authenticated record from the United Kingdom. Speight also found the fly in Germany in 1987 and has identified flies from museum specimens collected from north Germany, the Netherlands, northern France and Hungary to be ''M. cowini'', not '' M. cingulatus'' as formerly believed. It was first discovered in

curragh The Curragh ( ; ga, An Currach ) is a flat open plain of almost of common land in County Kildare. This area is well known for Irish horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is located on the edge of Kildare town, beside the ...

(willow carr/swamp)

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

in the north of Isle of Man and was recorded there again in the mid-1990s, when a pair was caught in a

pan trap A pan trap is a type of insect trap used to sample the abundance and diversity of insects, primarily used to capture small Hymenoptera. Pan traps are typically constructed with a bowl with shallow sides filled with water and soap or a preservativ ...

by Steve Crellin, a local

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

. Although found in the curragh, this pair were probably associated with a man-made sod hedge. Furthermore, it is believed that a former locality of the species, on road verges and farmland near the old Ballamona Hospital, just outside

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civi ...

, the capital of the Isle of Man, have been unknowingly destroyed by road widening and other

ribbon development Ribbon development refers to the building of houses along the routes of communications radiating from a human settlement. The resulting linear settlements are clearly visible on land use maps and aerial photographs, giving cities and the countr ...

, as an ecological survey undertaken before the building of the new Nobles Hospital failed to locate any specimens despite extensive trapping and surveying. The robber fly still exists at a number of sites throughout the north of the Isle of Man, including The Ayres National Nature Reserve and

Manx Wildlife Trust Manx Wildlife Trust (MWT) was founded on 6 March 1973 and is the Isle of Man’s leading nature conservation charity. Nature Reserves The Manx Wildlife Trust (as of September 2022) manages 26 nature reserves, along with the Calf of Man (on behalf ...

's reserve at Cronk y Bing, where it is probably associated with dry sandy conditions (possibly its larval habitat) and vegetation such as

brambles A bramble is any rough, tangled, prickly shrub, usually in the genus '' Rubus'', which grows blackberries, raspberries, or dewberries. "Bramble" is also used to describe other prickly shrubs, such as roses (''Rosa'' species). The fruits in ...

and

gorse ''Ulex'' (commonly known as gorse, furze, or whin) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are ...

which provide perching sites. Speight noted flourishing colonies along the sandy coasts of the north-east Isle of Man in 1987.

Taxonomy

The scientific name of the

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

, ''Machimus cowini'' (Hobby, 1946), comes from the

who discovered the species, W. S. Cowin. The scientific name of the species was once ''Epitriptus cowini''; however, it was renamed ''Machimus cowini'' after being placed in the genus ''Machimus''.

Conservation

The

conservation status The conservation status of a group of organisms (for instance, a species) indicates whether the group still exists and how likely the group is to become extinct in the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing conservatio ...

of the species is currently unknown; however, the

and

Manx National Trust Manx National Heritage ( gv, Eiraght Ashoonagh Vannin) is the national heritage organisation for the Isle of Man. The organisation manages a significant proportion of the island’s physical heritage assets including over 3,000 acres of coastlin ...

, through the creation of

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

s, have saved the

of the robber fly from total destruction.

Miscellaneous

In 1979 the

Isle of Man Post Office The Isle of Man Post Office ( gv, Oik Postagh Ellan Vannin), which formerly used the trading name Isle of Man Post, operates postal collection, ancillary mail services, philatelic goods and delivery services and post office counter services on ...

issued a 13-pence stamp to celebrate 100 years of the Manx Natural History & Antiquarian Society. Painted by J. H. Nicholson, it depicts the Manx robber fly, and gives its former binomial name ''Epitriptus cowini''. On 1 February 2001 the Isle of Man Post Office again issued a stamp depicting the Manx robber fly, in the series named 'Bugs and Bees', with the value of 58 pence.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q28531722 Asilinae Asilomorph flies of Europe Insects described in 1946