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Sorry Paul, but this is clearly not a Neoitamus. The occipital setae are not bent forward in the typical Neoitamus - way, but are rather straight and short. Maybe a detail of the head with a higher resolution would show this character more clearly.

This is a female of the Dysmachus-group, most probably Didysmachus picipes. Knowing the place where the picture was taken (this data should always be given when starting a thread) would probably help to confirm the ID.

There are only a few asilid genera with modified ovipositor like Dysmachus, Didysmachus and Eutolmus where ovipositing into different parts of grasses is known. The ovipositor is strongly compressed from the side and the cerci are incorporated in the ninth tergit. This is a adaptation to the way of egg-laying.


Greetings, Danny Wolff