Members of the family Asilidae, also called robber flies, feed on other flies and insects, such as bees, butterflies and beetles. They are known for their voracious appetite and aggressive behavior when hunting. In the African savanna, there are more than 1,400 species of robber flies, including Acasilus, Heligmonevra and Neolophonotus.
Grass flies are members of the family Chloropidae. They are very small and black or yellow in color. Some are parasites. Species of the genus Siphunculina, many found in the African savanna, have the habit of feeding on the lacrimal secretions of animals and can even target humans. Other genera living in the African savanna include Arctuator, Oscinimorpha and Pselaphia.
With about 150 species around the world, bot flies are part of the family Oestridae or parasitic flies that prey on mammals when in their larval stage. In Africa, the genus Gyrostigma attacks rhinoceroses, developing in the stomach of both black and white rhinoceros. Kirkioestrus blanchardi and Oestrus are called nasal bot flies because they lay their eggs on the nasal tissues of antelopes and other mammals.
The 23 species of tsetse flies found in Africa are part of the family Glossinidae. They are biting flies that transmit the human sleeping sickness or trypanosomiasis, a disease that still kills thousands of people in Africa every year. Although very similar to the domestic fly, tsetse flies have longer proboscises, which are the tube-like extended organ used to feed.