بررسی مگس‌های سارق جنس Stichopon Loew (Diptera: Asilidae) در استان کرمان

The robber flies (family Asilidae) are a large and widespread group of insects found in all geographical regions except Antarctica. The adult flies are often active and robust, and they attack a wide range of insects from various orders, including bees, flies, dragonflies, and grasshoppers, and even some spiders, thus helping to maintain the natural balance among insect populations. Although parasitic bees and flies are sometimes preyed upon by robber flies, their primary prey consists predominantly of phytophagous insects. The larvae of robber flies are also predatory, feeding on the eggs, larvae, or other soft-bodied insects. A study of the robber flies in Kerman Province, Iran, was conducted in 2019. In this research, the genus Stichopogon Loew, 1847 and four of its species, including S. albellus Loew, 1856, S. chrysostoma Schiner, 1867, S. elegantulus (Wiedemann in Meigen, 1820), and S. schineri Koch, 1872, were reported from Kerman Province for the first time. All of these species, except for S. chrysostoma, had been previously reported from Sistan and Baluchestan Province. This genus has 100 and 8 described species in the world and Iran, respectively. The key morphological features of this genus include: the third antennal segment elongated and longer than the combined length of the first two segments, the face smooth, swollen or flat at the oral margin, and the mystax (facial bristles) limited to the lower half of the face or the oral margin.