Detect. Lock on. Intercept. The remarkable hunting ability of the robber flyA tiny fly, the size of

Detect. Lock on. Intercept. The remarkable hunting ability of the robber fly

A tiny fly, the size of a rice grain, might be the Top Gun of the fly world, with a remarkable ability to detect and intercept its prey mid-air, changing direction mid-flight if necessary before sweeping round for the kill.

When it sees a potential prey, the fly launches itself upwards while maintaining a ‘constant bearing angle’ – in other words, it moves in a direction such that while moving closer and closer to its prey, it still maintains the same relative bearing. This ensures it will intercept its prey.

Once the fly is around 29 cm away from its prey – though exactly how it judges this distance is still unclear – the fly displays a remarkable strategy never before observed in a flying animal. It ‘locks-on’ to its prey while changing its own trajectory, enabling it to sweep round, slow down and come alongside the prey to make its final attack.

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Images 1-2: Sam Fabian; small robber fly Holcocephala, waiting patiently on a stick until an unsuspecting prey is detected with the help of those highly specialized eyes. 
Image 3: Sam Fabian; Unlucky fruit fly did not escape the keen eyes and aerial virtuosity of Holcocephala, who now sits on a stick consuming its prize.
Image 4:  Sam Fabian, with assistance for processing by the CAIC centre; scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images of the three predatory dipterans