A wonderful Inch-long Hornet Robber fly (Asilus crabroniformis) hunting on heathland!

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After a couple of previous sightings of this amazing species (including one at this exact spot a couple of years ago) I finally found one that stayed long enough to get some photos. This is probably the biggest fly species in the UK, at about an inch long. It's very loud too! They, like all robberflies are superb hunters of other insects, This species needs a good local supply of animal dung for laying their eggs, and nearby to this spot is a rabbit warren,, so it's more than likely that's why this spot is perfect for them!

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Size: 4000px × 2500px
Location: Thursley, Surrey
Photo credit: © Mark Horton / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No

Keywords: asilus, common, crabroniformis, heath, heather, heathland, hornet, insect, invrtebrate, lowland, macro, markhortonphotography, national, nature, nnr, reserve, robberfly, scrub, surrey, thatmacroguy, thursley, wildlife