robber fly
Refers to any fly of the family Asilidae. In Japanese, the name literally means 'insect-pulling horsefly'.
Robber flies catch and eat other insects.
I found a robber fly in the garden.
Katakana spelling is standard for this insect name; usually written in kana.
Kanji spelling using 食虫虻; rarely used.
Alternate kanji spelling; very rare.
Alternate kanji spelling; very rare.
Compound of 虫 (mushi, 'insect') + 引き (hiki, 'pulling') + 虻 (abu, 'horsefly'). The name describes the fly's predatory behavior of catching insects.