Adults are roughly 18–28 mm long.
Fine-art photographic collection
Promachus latitarsatus
A robber fly whose male courts a female while she is still gripping and eating another bee.
About this species
Promachus latitarsatus(Macquart, 1839)
Information reviewed15 July 2026
Promachus latitarsatus is a large robber fly endemic to the Canary Islands. Its courtship includes hovering visual displays in which males present conspicuously broadened feet to predatory females.
Taxonomy
Animalia · Arthropoda · Insecta · Diptera · Asilidae · Promachus
Accepted taxon. · checked 2026-07-15
Canary Islands, especially Gran CanariaBroad range and selected reference localities — not a complete occurrence map.
Canary Islands, especially Gran Canaria
Dry scrub, ravines and open sunny habitats.
Diurnal aerial predator active in strong sunshine.
Other flying insects, including bees and flies.
Solitary.
What makes this species remarkable?
A documented male hovered directly in front of a female while she was eating a captured bee — attempting courtship within centimetres of an active predator.
The male’s hind feet are widened and fringed, forming visual display structures that are presented during hovering rather than ordinary prey capture.
The species is a Canary Island endemic: its entire evolutionary experiment in exaggerated courtship feet is confined to a small Atlantic archipelago.
Sources and scientific references
- GBIF — taxon record/search for Promachus latitarsatus
- Catalogue of Life — taxon search for Promachus latitarsatus
- Geller-Grimm — world catalogue entry for Promachus latitarsatus
- Peer-reviewed description of courtship in Promachus latitarsatus
- Published figure documenting the hovering display and enlarged tarsi