Leptogaster arenicolus James, 1937

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 : 97

Leptogaster arenicolus James

Leptogaster arenicolus James, 1937: 13 .

Recognition characters: Blackish species; 7–10 mm; mystax white with many bristles that are matted together; thorax black, pleura, postpronotal, and supraalar regions reddish, pruinosity of pleura white, dorsally pale yellow, almost white; wings hyaline; abdomen brown subshining dorsum with denser lateral pollinosity, white ventrally; leg coxae reddish; fore legs with femora and tibiae pale yellow, narrowly reddish or pale brownish above; mid legs with femora brown above, black below, tibiae brown; hind legs with femora strongly clavate, tibiae brownish to black; tarsi black except for yellow basitarsi.

Distribution: ALBANY: 11 July 1944 ( REP); Centennial, 19 July 1960 ( RJL); Owl Creek Mt., 25 June 1961 ( RJL); Sherman Hill Estates, 4 July 1969 ( RJL). CAMPBELL: Wyodak Plant/Station CW-2, Gillette, 19 July 1977. GOSHEN: 22 July 1944 ( REP). LARAMIE: 32 km E of Laramie, 22 July 1944 ( REP). NIOBRARA: Stop 27, 8 July 1943 ( REP). PARK: Cody, 5 km NW, 11 July 1984 ( RJL, DF). PLATTE: 13 July 1944 ( REP); 32 km E of Wheatland, 4 Aug. 1965; Wheatland, 29 July 1974 ( RJL), prey of Efferia varipes , 2: 42 p. m. SWEETWATER: Farson, 4 Aug. 1955 ( GEB); NE Farson, 28 June 1978 ( RJL); Point of Rocks, 14 km W (Thayer Jct.), 21 July 1976 ( RJL); Thayer Jct., 30 July 1979 ( MP). WYOMING: 1881 ( HKM) (one specimen in USNM).

Habitat: Sagebrush steppe and wheatgrass-needlegrass shrub steppe shrub and grassland, grama-needlegrasswheatgrass and grama-buffalo grass grassland vegetation types. Rangeland.

Ethology: Nothing known.

Prey: None known.