{"id":131993,"date":"2024-08-09T02:58:04","date_gmt":"2024-08-09T07:58:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=131993"},"modified":"2024-08-07T05:58:25","modified_gmt":"2024-08-07T10:58:25","slug":"robber-fly-photos-from-sequoyah-nwr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/08\/09\/robber-fly-photos-from-sequoyah-nwr\/","title":{"rendered":"Robber Fly Photos From Sequoyah NWR"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s about time for me to share a few Robber Fly images that were taken at the end of July while walking the side roads of Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge.<\/p>\n

\"RobberRobber Fly resting on gravel \u2013 Canon R7, handheld, f8, 1\/1250, ISO 800, +1.0 EV, Canon 100-500mm at 500mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

These large flies are predatory and found worldwide, with over 7,000 described species. In North America, there are nearly 1,000 species.<\/p>\n

That is a lot, so it’s no small wonder that I wasn’t able to identify the species I photographed. I’d be pulling my hair out trying to sort through all of the robber flies found in Oklahoma!<\/p>\n

\"AdultAdult Robber Fly at Sequoyah NWR \u2013 Canon R7, handheld, f8, 1\/2500, ISO 800, +0.3 EV, Canon 100-500mm at 500mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Robber Flies feed on a wide variety of insects including flies, beetles, butterflies, moths, bees, wasps, grasshoppers, and even other robber flies. I keep hoping to photograph one of these flies with prey.<\/p>\n

Maybe one day soon that will happen. Robber Flies are also known as \u201cAssassin Flies\u201d due to their predatory nature.<\/p>\n

\"MatingMating Robber Flies at Sequoyah NWR \u2013 Canon R7, handheld, f8, 1\/1600, ISO 800, +0.3 EV, Canon 100-500mm at 500mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Robber Flies inhabit open, sunny areas including grasslands, old fields, woodland openings, marshes, and areas near ponds and streams. Steve Creek and I found these flies while we were walking a side road on the refuge.<\/p>\n

See one of Steve’s informative posts about Robber Flies here<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

I did see robber flies while I lived in Utah; I just never got the chance to photograph them. During the warmer months in Oklahoma and Arkansas, I should have plenty of opportunities to do so.<\/p>\n

Whether I will ever be able to identify the species I have in my viewfinder remains to be seen. I don’t give myself a hard time about that, though, because I know my birds and my mammals. If I don’t know some insects, I’m okay with that.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my insect and spider galleries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s about time for me to share a few Robber Fly images that were taken at the end of July while walking the side roads of Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":131979,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[13973,15514,13974],"tags":[5261,13985,13984,6790,1799,4363,4156,15519,5260,15520,2315],"class_list":["post-131993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-oklahoma","category-robber-flies","category-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge","tag-asilidae","tag-bottomland-hardwood-forests","tag-bottomlands","tag-gravel","tag-insects","tag-mating","tag-resting","tag-robber-flies","tag-robber-fly","tag-side-road","tag-summer-3"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/robber-flies-mating-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-7427.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-ykV","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":40354,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/07\/06\/juvenile-loggerhead-shrike-with-a-robber-fly\/","url_meta":{"origin":131993,"position":0},"title":"Juvenile Loggerhead Shrike with a Robber Fly","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 6, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"When I took this image the juvenile Loggerhead Shrike was perched on a dead twig when the robber fly flew into the frame, the shrike took off after the fly and caught it in mid air.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Loggerhead Shrike juvenile looking at a Robber Fly, West Desert, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/loggerhead-shrike-robber-fly-mia-mcpherson-1272.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/loggerhead-shrike-robber-fly-mia-mcpherson-1272.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/loggerhead-shrike-robber-fly-mia-mcpherson-1272.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/loggerhead-shrike-robber-fly-mia-mcpherson-1272.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":114210,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/07\/07\/common-buckeye-butterfly-photos-from-sequoyah-nwr\/","url_meta":{"origin":131993,"position":1},"title":"Common Buckeye Butterfly Photos From Sequoyah NWR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 7, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm sharing four Common Buckeye butterfly photos this morning. These images were taken at beautiful Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oklahoma.","rel":"","context":"In "Common Buckeye Butterflies"","block_context":{"text":"Common Buckeye Butterflies","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife\/common-buckeye-butterflies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Common Buckeye butterfly resting in morning light, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/common-buckeye-sequoyah-nwr-mia-mcpherson-2875.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/common-buckeye-sequoyah-nwr-mia-mcpherson-2875.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/common-buckeye-sequoyah-nwr-mia-mcpherson-2875.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/common-buckeye-sequoyah-nwr-mia-mcpherson-2875.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":131007,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/07\/22\/northern-cottonmouth-close-ups\/","url_meta":{"origin":131993,"position":2},"title":"Northern Cottonmouth Close Ups","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 22, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I was excited to see and photograph a Northern Cottonmouth on a gravel road at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge last week. The snake was very cooperative.","rel":"","context":"In "Northern Cottonmouths (Water Moccasins)"","block_context":{"text":"Northern Cottonmouths (Water Moccasins)","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife\/northern-cottonmouths-water-moccasins\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Northern Cottonmouth and a small spider, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/northern-cottonmouth-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-4225.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/northern-cottonmouth-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-4225.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/northern-cottonmouth-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-4225.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/northern-cottonmouth-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-4225.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":130422,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/07\/11\/my-lifer-bobcat-photos-at-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":131993,"position":3},"title":"My Lifer Bobcat Photos At Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 11, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday morning, I took my first Bobcat photos at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, thanks to my dear friend Steve Creek letting me know where it was.","rel":"","context":"In "Bobcats"","block_context":{"text":"Bobcats","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife\/bobcats\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Bobcat sitting on a gravel road at Sequoyah NWR, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/bobcat-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-0546.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/bobcat-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-0546.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/bobcat-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-0546.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/bobcat-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-0546.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":166199,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/12\/27\/christmas-day-great-blue-heron-and-turtle-at-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":131993,"position":4},"title":"Christmas Day Great Blue Heron And Turtle At Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 27, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"On Christmas Day I photographed a Great Blue Heron and a turtle in Miner's Cove at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma. Yes, a turtle in winter!","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Great Blue Heron and turtle on Christmas Day at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/great-blue-heron-turtle-christmas-day-mia-mcpherson-3601.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/great-blue-heron-turtle-christmas-day-mia-mcpherson-3601.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/great-blue-heron-turtle-christmas-day-mia-mcpherson-3601.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/great-blue-heron-turtle-christmas-day-mia-mcpherson-3601.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":148200,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/06\/12\/blue-dasher-dragonfly-male-at-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":131993,"position":5},"title":"Blue Dasher Dragonfly Male At Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 12, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Two days ago I photographed this adult Blue Dasher dragonfly near the gravel road at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge. I'm happy to see the dragonflies back.","rel":"","context":"In "Blue Dasher Dragonflies"","block_context":{"text":"Blue Dasher Dragonflies","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife\/blue-dasher-dragonflies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Blue Dasher dragonfly male at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/blue-dasher-dragonfly-male-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-0044.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/blue-dasher-dragonfly-male-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-0044.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/blue-dasher-dragonfly-male-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-0044.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/blue-dasher-dragonfly-male-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-0044.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131993"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131993\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/131979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}