Carpenter-bee-predators
Guides
Laphriinae
robber flies
Laphriinae is a subfamily of robber flies (family Asilidae) containing over 110 genera and 1,000 described species. Adults are predatory, with many species exhibiting mimicry of bees and wasps. The subfamily is notable for its larval ecology: all species have larvae that prey on wood-boring beetle larvae, primarily in families Buprestidae and Cerambycidae. Some species have specialized host relationships, such as Hyperechia larvae developing within cells of Xylocopa carpenter bees.