This fly is approximately 1/2 inch (13 mm) in length. It is all black. The thorax and abdomen are shiny black with almost no hair. The legs are black with light colored fuzz. It is probably part of a complex of very similar robber flies that occur in the east, and distribution is not well known at this time.
These are probably uncommon in Fontenelle Forest and Neale Woods. They have been photographed in the Forest in mid-June and early July.
These robberflies prefer understory leaf tops of low plants in woodlands. Their prey is small insects, such as flies. There are about 63 species in the genus Laphria in North America.
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