Posts Tagged: tachinid fly

It's Friday Fly Day!

If it's Friday, it must be "Friday Fly Day!" And a perfect day to post an image of a fly. This is a female tachinid, genus Peleteria, in the family Tachinidae. It is perched on a lavender in Vacaville, Calif. The genus is characterized...

A female tachinid on lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A female tachinid on lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Parasitoid Palooza! Or What Ate My Caterpillar or Chrysalis

So you're trying to rear monarch butterflies. You notice an egg on your milkweed plant, and watch its life cycle from egg to caterpillar to chrysalis.  Aha, you think, soon I'll be able to see an adult monarch eclose from that chrysalis. Not so...

This monarch chrysalis is filled with tachinid fly larvae, about to emerge. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This monarch chrysalis is filled with tachinid fly larvae, about to emerge. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Tachinid fly larva emerges from a monarch chrysalis. It will turn brown, harden, and become a pupa--and eventually, an adult tachinid fly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Tachinid fly larva emerges from a monarch chrysalis. It will turn brown, harden, and become a pupa--and eventually, an adult tachinid fly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Taking on the Tachinids

They're hairy. They're bristly. They're attention-getters. They probably draw more "yecchs!" than most insects. All the more reason to love 'em. Frankly, the tachinids (family Tachinidae, order Diptera) could never be misidentified as honey bees, as...

Tachinid fly "in the pink." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Tachinid fly "in the pink." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Tachinid fly foraging. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Tachinid fly foraging. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The End Is Near

The parasitic fly (family Tachinidae) never had a chance. It went from floral visitor to spider prey to spider dinner when it made a single solitary mistake: it inadvertently fell into a sticky web. Its life-and-death struggle in our back yard did not...

Two cellar spiders work together to capture a Tachinid fly in their web. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Two cellar spiders work together to capture a Tachinid fly in their web. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

While one spider wraps the fly, another bites it in the head, paralyzing it. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

While one spider wraps the fly, another bites it in the head, paralyzing it. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Close-up of the fatal bite. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Close-up of the fatal bite. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Tiptoeing Through the Lavender

Ever seen a tachinid tiptoeing through the lavender? The tachinids are parasitic flies that lay their eggs in hosts such as Lepidoptera (butterfly) caterpillars. As larvae, they live in and kill their hosts. As adults, they sip nectar and other plant...

Tachinid Fly

UP ON TOP--A tachinid rests on top of a lavender. This is a female of a Peleteria species, a common genus in southwestern United States. The genus is characterized by two prominent setae in front of the lower part of the eye.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Going Down

GOING DOWN--The tachinid heads down the lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Going Around

GOING AROUND--The tachinid examines the other side of the lavender. Perhaps it's greener on the other side? (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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