Eversmann’s Giant Robber-fly
Status: Category III (LR-nt). A species that is rarely encountered over a wide range, with habitats tending to decrease in area. Listed in the Red Book of the USSR in 1984 (Category II) [26].
Brief description of the adult stage appearance. The largest fly in the country's fauna, with a forewing length of up to 26 mm and a body length of 38-50 mm. The slender body is covered with a dense, gray coating; the thorax is strong, massive with a strongly convex middle back. The eyes are very large, protruding, and separated from each other in both sexes. The proboscis is elongated, protruding, and highly sclerotized. Long legs are covered with hairs and bristles. A pair of transparent, fast wings fold over the back when at rest. Sexual dimorphism is weakly expressed.
General distribution and in the country. Found in North Africa, Iran, the southern European part of Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Altai, Mongolia, and Northern China [33, 26, 22]. In Kyrgyzstan - the valleys of the Talas, Chatkal, and Uzun-Akhmat rivers [42, 63], the Atoyok ridge (Kurpsai gorge [37]), the northern slope of the Kyrgyz ridge, and the Chui valley (Petrovka village [42, 63], Chon-Aryk village [49], Kashka-Suu village [49]), the western end of the Issyk-Kul basin [49], the Inner Tien Shan (the valley of the Djaman-Davan river, Sary-Bulun village) [42, 63], and the Fergana region [12].
Habitats. Virgin steppes, wastelands, and sparse shrubs on hills and foothills at altitudes up to 1900 m [63].
Population. Very low. Single individuals are encountered.
Life style (life cycles). Adult robber-flies and their larvae lead a free lifestyle, preying on other insects. Larvae develop in soil or decaying wood. Adult flight is observed from late June to mid-September. They are skittish; catching them, especially with prey, is very difficult. They are entomophagous, with Moroccan locusts Dociostaurus maroccanus Thunberg and horseflies (family Tabanidae) noted in their prey [33]. Development lasts one year [26].
Limiting factors. Development and plowing of steppe areas, use of insecticides.
Breeding (keeping in captivity). Not conducted.
Existing conservation measures. Not developed, despite the fact that the species was included in the Red Book of the republic in 1985 [60].
Recommended conservation measures. It is necessary to study the current distribution and ecology of the species, after which micro-reserves should be created in habitats, prohibiting plowing and the use of insecticides.
Eversmann’s Giant Robber-fly
Eversmann’s Giant Robber-fly
Satanas gigas (Eversmann, 1854)
Status: “Lower Risk - near threatened” (LR-nt - Category III), a naturally rare widespread (from Northern Africa up to Mongolia and Northern China) species, populations of which are mosaic-distributed in lands under economic development. It is a noticeably large robber-fly, which species is included in some regional Red Lists, an active predator, catching acridids and gad-flies. Flies occur in season from the end of June to mid-September; the species inhabits foothills and piedmonts with steppe vegetation, up to 1,900 m above sea level and is registered in Kyrgyzstan in several sites in Talas, Chatkal, Uzun-Akhmat, Fergana, and Tchu valleys, in Middle-Naryn and Issyk-Kul hollows. The number is small everywhere. Limiting factors: development of virgin lands, ploughing-up, and pesticide treatments. At present, it is out of any protection, while it was included in the Red Book of the country in 1985. To conserve the species, the creation of micro-reservations with a decrease in the mentioned limiting factors, and the study of the current distribution and ecology, are necessary.
