''Pegesimallus'' is a genus of
robber flies
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 expert predatory habits; t ...
.
Distribution
Africa and Eurasia.
Biology
These species spend much of their time perched in the shade on shrubs or grass, where they lie in wait for flying insects. Their prey includes a wide variety of arthropods;
Hymenoptera
Hymenoptera is a large order of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described, in addition to over 2,000 extinct ones. Many of the species are parasitic.
Females typi ...
and
Diptera
Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advance ...
predominate. Females
oviposit
The ovipositor is a tube-like organ used by some animals, especially insects, for the laying of eggs. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages. The details and morphology of the ovipositor vary, but typical ...
in the surface layer of the soil.
Taxonomy
The classification of the species in this genus is difficult for two main reasons: Firstly, many are sexually dimorphic to the extent that females and males of the same species were, for some time, placed in different genera; and secondly, some of the species are so similar that they can only be separated by considering details of the male genitalia.
The genus has been placed in the tribe
Megapodini of the subfamily
Dasypogoninae
Dasypogoninae is a subfamily of robber flies in the family Asilidae. There are more than 60 genera and 520 described species in Dasypogoninae.
Genera
These 62 genera belong to the subfamily Dasypogoninae:
*'' Aczelia'' Carrera, 1955
*'' Al ...
.
It contains about 54 species, including the following:
* ''
Pegesimallus apicalis''
Bromley, 1947
* ''
Pegesimallus brunneus''
Londt, 1980
* ''
Pegesimallus bulbifrons''
Londt, 1980
* ''
Pegesimallus calvifrons''
Londt, 1980
* ''
Pegesimallus claelius''
Walker, 1849
* ''
Pegesimallus fusticulus''
Londt, 1980
* ''
Pegesimallus hermanni''
Londt, 1980
* ''
Pegesimallus irwini''
Londt, 1980
* ''
Pegesimallus isanicus''
Tomasovic, 2005
* ''
Pegesimallus kenyensis''
Londt, 1980
* ''
Pegesimallus mesasiatica''
Lehr, 1958
* ''
Pegesimallus namibiensis''
Londt, 1980
* ''
Pegesimallus oldroydi''
Londt, 1980
* ''
Pegesimallus saegeri''
Oldroyd, 1970
* ''
Pegesimallus srilankensis''
Londt, 1980
* ''
Pegesimallus vansoni''
Londt, 1980
* ''
Pegesimallus volcata''
Walker, 1849
* ''
Pegesimallus yerburyi''
Londt, 1980
References
External links
*
*
Asilidae genera
{{Asilidae-stub