Comantella fallei (Back)

Lavigne, Robert J. & Dennis, Steve, 2019, Robber flies (Insecta: Diptera: Asilidae) of Wyoming, USA with keys to genera and species, Zootaxa 4662 (1), pp. 1-126 : 80-81

Comantella fallei (Back)

Cophura fallei Back, 1909: 378 .

Recognition characters: Grayish black species; length 10–12 mm; mystax black and bushy; thorax brownish black pollinose, with long, medial, black mane; scutellar bristles 10–20, black; wings hyaline with 6 black spots; legs black, covered with long black setae; apex of fore tibiae with twisted black spine which distinguishes it from Eucyrtopogon .

Distribution: ALBANY: Chimney Rock, 24 km SW of Laramie, 8 Oct. 964 ( RJL); 5 km E of Laramie, 15 April 1966 ( RJL). CARBON: Seminoe Mtns., 8 Nov. 1965, 28 Oct. 1966 ( RJL) (specimen in CAS), 26 Oct. 1972 ( RJL); Seminoe Reservoir, 4 May 1969, 5 Oct. 1970 ( RJL). JOHNSON: Kaycee, 6 km N, 4 May 1965 ( RJL). LINCOLN: Fontanelle Dam, 2 May 1969 ( RJL). NATRONA: Casper Mountain, 16–17 Oct. 1972 ( RJL). PLATTE: Camp Guernsey, WANG, 2001b ( CSU, GMAD); Dwyer, 2 Nov. 1965 ( RJL); Glendo, 23 Oct. 1959, 4–11 April 1960, 13 April–12 May 1961, 19–27 Oct. 1961, 25 Oct. 1961 ( RJL) (specimen in CAS), 29 April–3 May 1962, 4 Oct. 1962, 29 April 1964 ( RJL), 29 April 1964 ( RJL) (specimen in CAS); 5 km S of Glendo, 2 Nov. 1965 ( RJL); Guernsey, 19–27 Oct. 1961, 13 April–5 May 1962, 19–22 Oct. 1962 ( RJL), 22 Oct. 1962 ( RJL) (specimen in CAS), 27 March 1963 ( LJS, RJL); Guernsey State Park, 19 April 1965 ( RJL); 37 km N of Wheatland, 20 April 1965 ( RJL). WASHAKIE: Worland, 23 April 1913 ( LB-UN); 16 Feb. 1962, 21 Mar. 1962 ( DGF). Recorded from Wyoming by: Adisoemarto (1967); Dennis & Lavigne (1975), (1976b) (pupal case); Dennis et al. (2010); Fisher & Wilcox (1997); Geller-Grimm (2018); Lavigne & Dennis (1994).

Habitat: Sagebrush steppe and wheatgrass-needlegrass shrub steppe shrub and grassland, and grama-needlegrass-wheatgrass grassland vegetation types. Open range, short grass plains, along the dry beds of intermittent streams or around windmills, and protected gullies with and without pine cover; rangeland breaks, usually with ponderosa pine cover (see Dennis & Lavigne 1975).

Ethology: Forages from both the ground and vegetation (see Dennis & Lavigne 1975).

Prey: ARANEAE, COLEOPTERA , DIPTERA , HEMIPTERA (Heteroptera, Homoptera) , HYMENOPTERA , LEPIDOPTERA (see Dennis & Lavigne 1975, 2007; Dennis et al. 2010; Lavigne & Dennis 1994; Rogers & Lavigne 1972).