Orange-backed Robber Fly
S2, Female, feeding
Ellura
Orange-backed Robber Fly
S9, Female, ventral
 
                      
Orange-backed Robber Fly (Mauropteron pelago)Class: Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta)
Order: Flies (Diptera)
Family: Robber Fly (Asilidae)     iNaturalist Observation
Species: Orange-backed Robber Fly (Mauropteron pelago)
This Photo:     S6, Male, ventral

Thank you Stephen Fricker, Mark Hura, Dr Chris Cohen & David Muirhead for confirming the id of this species for us

General Species Information:
Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA) and elsewhere
Males ~29mm long, females ~34mm long.
The genders can be differentiated by the male have a bulbous clasp at the end of it's "tail". The female has a thin posterior to the abdomen.
The orange back is surprisingly difficult to see.
Obvious in flight if it's below you, or when it's cleaning itself

Copyright © 2019-2024 Brett & Marie Smith. All Rights Reserved. Photographed 18-Dec-2019
This species is an Australian Native Species, not listed in the SA Murray Mallee Survey of 2010.