''Promachus yesonicus'', or in
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
, is a species of
robber flies. In Japanese, "shioya" means a salt merchant (someone who makes or deals in salt), and "abu" means a
horse-fly
Horse flies and deer flies are true flies in the family Tabanidae in the insect Order (biology), order Diptera. The adults are often large and agile in flight. Only females bite land vertebrates, including humans, to hematophagy, obtain blood ...
. This insect is called "shioya-abu" because the males have a white tip to their tail that resembles salt.
Distribution
''Promachus yesonicus'' is found throughout
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
from
Hokkaido
is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates HokkaidÅ fr ...
to
Okinawa
most commonly refers to:
* Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture
* Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture
* Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself
* Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...
. They are visible from June to September.
Description
Male ''Promachus yesonicus'' have a white cotton-like bud at the end of their tails, while females do not. Adults can reach in length.
References
Asilidae
Insects described in 1887
Articles containing video clips
Insects of Japan
{{Asilidae-stub