Tachinid Fly or Fungus Infection???

bugman

December 25th, 2009 at 10:53 am

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Fly with black and white abdomen…
December 23, 2009
I saw this Fly on the base of my porch light… most of the body of this fly is black or is of a dark color except the abdoman which has white stripes.
The temp. was around 25 degrees outside… the season is winter…
LoLo Monae
Roanoke Virginia

Tachinid Fly or Fungus Infection

Dear LoLo,
Though we cannot find a match on BugGuide, we believe this is some species of Tachinid Fly. Tachinid Flies parasitize other insects including caterpillars, and they are important biological controls for pest species.

Karl believes this is a Fungus Infection
I don’t know what kind of fly this is, is but think its flashy appearance could be due to a fungal infection, perhaps by Entomophthora muscae. There are numerous photos on the internet that look very similar to this this. The white banding occurs as the fungus bursts out between the abdominal segments (presumably just before the victim expires). For more information you could check out: http://www.hort.wisc.edu/mastergardener/features/insects/entomophthora/entomophora.htm or check out the photos at: http://magickcanoe.com/blog/2006/09/07/mystery-fly-and-crumby-internet-connections/
Karl

I like This

Comments 2

kkroeker wrote:
I don’t know what kind of fly this is, is but think its flashy appearance could be due to a fungal infection, perhaps by Entomophthora muscae. There are numerous photos on the internet that look very similar to this this. The white banding occurs as the fungus bursts out between the abdominal segments (presumably just before the victim expires). For more information you could check out: http://www.hort.wisc.edu/mastergardener/features/insects/entomophthora/entomophora.htm or check out the photos at: http://magickcanoe.com/blog/2006/09/07/mystery-fly-and-crumby-internet-connections/
Posted 26 Dec 2009 at 10:25 am ¶
elisa2019 wrote:
this is really weird. but it is cool.
Posted 24 Jul 2010 at 5:48 pm ¶