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Tachinid FliesBee Fly from Ecuador
Location: Quito, Ecuador
January 15, 2011 1:44 am
I photographed this insect just outside Quito, Ecuador, on 2-Nov-10. I believe it to be a Bee Fly but know almost nothing about inscts of Ecuador. Can anyone help with identification?
Signature: Bill
Tachinid Fly
Hi Bill,
In our opinion, this is a Tachinid Fly in the family Tachinidae. According to BugGuide, a website dedicated to North American species: “Larval stages are parasitoids of other arthropods; hosts include members of 11 insect orders, centipedes, spiders, and scorpions. Some tachinids are very host-specific, others parasitize a wide variety of hosts. The most common hosts are caterpillars. Most tachinids deposit their eggs directly on the body of their host, and it is not uncommon to see caterpillars with several tachinid eggs on them. Upon hatching the larva usually burrows into its host and feeds internally. Full-grown larva leaves the host and pupates nearby. Some tachinids lay their eggs on foliage; the larvae are flattened and are called planidia; they remain on the foliage until they find a suitable host.“
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Comments 1
Thank you for your help. I agree with you now.
Posted 17 Jan 2011 at 12:40 am ¶Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. You can also subscribe without commenting.
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