"Everything is determined, the beginning as well as the end, by forces over which we have no control. It is determined for the insect, as well as for the star. Human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust, we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible piper." 

- Albert Einstein

Recently I spied this dreadful yet so lovely little creature posing perfectly on a leaf in a urban garden waiting to be discovered. What can one say about those huge dreamy eyes, those delicate wings and spiked long deadly legs that could do them justice?

Actually this Robber Fly was not waiting to be discovered in order to become a social media sensation, he is actually waiting for something to fly by to mug, thus the name Robber Fly. And they do not steal pollen or nectar off the passing bug and send them on their way bruised and disgruntled. They steal lives and their prey includes Bees, Flies, Dragon Flies and even another Robber Flies, they aren’t picky eaters. You may now be thinking right now if I know this then why did I not swat it instead of admiring and photographing it? Those would be very reasonable questions or responses to coming across something that is lying in wait for an innocent victim that is is going to consume alive. However it is not my place to do so, nature is far wiser and quite qualified to manage herself, far better I, a mere human is, in fact.

Nature is a gift, something to respect and appreciate, it is something we are a part of and not a simple possession we have total dominion over. The Robber Fly is a necessary predator, they do their part to keep insect populations under control, even their own. This helps balance matters meaning that the grasshoppers do not over populate and wipe out crops leaving famine for the rest of us. We are very fortunate that Robber Flies exist and they are such an important and necessary part of nature that they exist on every corner on this planet. We need to respect them because they help us in their own ghoulish way as well as the fact that I for one do not want to have to eat grasshoppers, humans are not meant to do the jobs of Robber Flies.