''Pegesimallus'' is a genus of
robber flies.
Distribution
Africa and Eurasia.
Biology
These species spend much of their time perched in the shade on shrubs or grass, where they lie in wait for flying insects. Their prey includes a wide variety of arthropods;
Hymenoptera and
Diptera predominate. Females
oviposit
The ovipositor is a tube-like organ used by some animals, especially insects, for the laying of eggs. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages. The details and morphology of the ovipositor vary, but typical ...
in the surface layer of the soil.
Taxonomy
The classification of the species in this genus is difficult for two main reasons: Firstly, many are sexually dimorphic to the extent that females and males of the same species were, for some time, placed in different genera; and secondly, some of the species are so similar that they can only be separated by considering details of the male genitalia.
The genus has been placed in the tribe
Megapodini of the subfamily
Dasypogoninae
Dasypogoninae is a subfamily of robber flies in the family Asilidae. There are more than 60 genera and 520 described species in Dasypogoninae.
Genera
These 62 genera belong to the subfamily Dasypogoninae:
*'' Aczelia'' Carrera, 1955
*'' All ...
.
It contains about 54 species, including the following:
* ''
Pegesimallus apicalis''
Bromley, 1947
* ''
Pegesimallus brunneus''
Londt, 1980
* ''
Pegesimallus bulbifrons''
Londt, 1980
* ''
Pegesimallus calvifrons''
Londt, 1980
* ''
Pegesimallus claelius''
Walker, 1849
* ''
Pegesimallus fusticulus''
Londt, 1980
* ''
Pegesimallus hermanni''
Londt, 1980
* ''
Pegesimallus irwini''
Londt, 1980
* ''
Pegesimallus isanicus''
Tomasovic, 2005
* ''
Pegesimallus kenyensis''
Londt, 1980
* ''
Pegesimallus mesasiatica''
Lehr, 1958
* ''
Pegesimallus namibiensis''
Londt, 1980
* ''
Pegesimallus oldroydi''
Londt, 1980
* ''
Pegesimallus saegeri''
Oldroyd, 1970
* ''
Pegesimallus srilankensis''
Londt, 1980
* ''
Pegesimallus vansoni''
Londt, 1980
* ''
Pegesimallus volcata''
Walker, 1849
* ''
Pegesimallus yerburyi''
Londt, 1980
References
External links
*
*
Asilidae genera
{{Asilidae-stub
