Diptera (Asilidae) Part I: General Introduction and Tribes Leptogasterini, Laphriini, Atomosini, Stichopogonini and Ommatini

Asilidae (robberflies) is one of the largest families of Brachycera, Diptera. Consequent to their predaceous nature they help to maintain the natural balance of insect population and have, therefore, considerable potential in biological control. Over 5000 species of robberflies are known from all over the world of which over 475 species are known from India and adjacent countries. Inspite of their abundance not much work has been done because of the difficulty of their collection due to their extreme agility. In this part, out of total eight tribes, five tribes, Leptogasterini, Laphriini, Atomosini, Sitchopogonini and Asilini, have been dealt with.