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Tachinid fly - Family
Tachinidae
- This page contains pictures and information about Tachinid
Flies that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
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 - Tachinid fly - this
fly parasites in moth caterpillar
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- All Tachinid Flies share the
parasitoid habit, their larvae are parasites in other insects. They mainly
parasites on larvae of moths or butterflies, larvae or adults of
beetles, adults of bugs, or adults of various
orthopteroid
orders, such as grasshoppers and stick insects.
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- Tachinidae is one of the largest families
of Diptera. Tachinid flies are relatively soft bodied,
from small to large size insects. They may be drab, brightly coloured, or mimics wasp. Tachinid flies are
extremely diverse in appearance and many do not have the typical grey-black,
bristly faces.
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- The larvae are known as maggots and often are worm-like lacking
appendages. They are usually adapted to live in their food. Adult flies can be
found in almost all habitats resting on foliage, feeding at flowers or, in the
case of females, flying quietly in search of hosts. Males may be seen
resting on larger tree trunks.
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- For more details about the general life of Tachinid Flies, please
visit our More about Tachinid page.
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- We found quite a number of different species of
Tachinid Flies. Most of them look similar and hard to be identified.
However, we are quite sure they belong to this family. There are five subfamilies recorded from Australia. We
found species in four and listed as follows;
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- This subfamily parasitic in Hemiptera. Their abdomen is bare of bristles
and is either globular or quite flat and round.
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- We did not capture any photos of them yet.
- The Dexiinae mostly are parasitic in larval Coleoptera (beetle). Adults
are usually found resting on tree trunk. Usually they have long legs, with
face elongated under the eyes.
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- The Tachininae are mostly parasitic in Lepidoptera (moth and butterfly).
Most of the are very bristly.
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- The Goniinae are mostly parasitic in Lepidoptera (moth and butterfly).
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- Reference:
- 1. Insects
of Australia, CSIRO, Division of Entomology, Melbourne University
Press, 2nd Edition 1991, p 784.
- 2. Insects of Australia and New Zealand - R. J. Tillyard, Angus
& Robertson, Ltd, Sydney, 1926, p376.
- 3. Family
Tachinidae - Tachinid Flies - BugGuide.net, 2007.
- 4. Family
TACHINIDAE - Australasian/Oceanian Diptera Catalog -- Web Version, by Bryan K. Cantrell & Roger W. Crosskey.
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- [ Phasiinae ] [ Dexiinae ] [ Tachininae ] [ Goniinae ] [ More about Tachinid flies ]
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