Lasiopogon quadrivittatus Jones, 1907

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 : 115

Lasiopogon quadrivittatus Jones

Lasiopogon quadrivittatus Jones, 1907: 278 .

Recognition characters: Gray species; length 9–11 mm; mystax white; setae and bristles of mesonotum straw white, postpronotal setae straw white; metanotal bristles and scutellar setae and bristles straw white; abdominal tergites brownish gray tomentose with apical margins lighter in color; surstyli black, brownish gray tomentose medially and basally; dististyle compact; legs black, brownish gray tomentose. Easily differentiated from other Wyoming Lasiopogon species by straw white vestiture.

Distribution: BIG HORN: Greybull, banks of Big Horn River, 2 June 1965 ( RJL); Manderson, banks of Big Horn River, 2 June 1965 ( RJL). FREMONT: 16 km S of Shoshoni, 26 June 1965 ( RJL). PLATTE: Camp Guernsey, WANG, 2001b ( CSU, GMAD); Dwyer, numerous records, 1 May–8 June ( RJL); Glendo, 4 June 1957 ( DRT) (specimen in USNM); Guernsey, 27 April–8 June 1962, 9 May 1963 ( RJL). WASHAKIE: Worland, 3 May 1965 ( RJL). WYOMING: 1881 ( HKM) (specimen in USNM); unknown (six specimens deposited in USNM). Recorded from Wyoming by: Adisoemarto (1967); Cannings (2002) (Big Horn, Fremont, Hot Springs, Natrona, Niobrara, Park, Platte, and Washakie Counties), (2013); Fisher & Wilcox (1997); Geller-Grimm (2018).

Habitat: Saltbrush-greasewood shrub, sagebrush steppe and wheatgrass-needlegrass shrub steppe shrub and grassland, and grama-needlegrass-wheatgrass grassland vegetation types. Collected on sandy beaches along river; common on open rangeland, especially in wind protected gullies.

Ethology: Rests on and forages from soil, rocks, and dead grass stems.

Prey: DIPTERA , Anthomyiidae : Hylemya sp. (two records); Asilidae : Lasiopogon quadrivittatus, Dwyer , 1 June 1961 (three records), Guernsey, 3 May 1962; Therevidae : Metaphragma planiceps Loew, Dwyer , 3 May 1963 (being fed upon by female in copula, resting on soil of intermittent stream bed); Psilocephala sp. (two records); ISOPTERA , Rhinotermitidae : Reticulitermes tibialis Banks, 1920 (winged reproductive), Worland, 3 May 1965. DIPTERA , ORTHOPTERA (see Rogers & Lavigne 1972).