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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Spiny Tachina Fly and Sand Wasp (we think)

Fake Bumblebee?
October 19, 2009
On Saturday (October 17th) our local Audubon club came across a rabbitbrush in full bloom. There were a lot of bugs visiting the bush, including what we first assumed were lots of bumble bees. As we got closer it became obvious they weren’t bumblebees, and we were undecided if they were actually bees or flies.
Pam Wheeler
Saint George, Utah

Spiny Tachina Fly

Spiny Tachina Fly

Hi Pam,
Your fake bumblebee is actually a Tachinid Fly.  Tachinid Flies are parasitic on other insects, and according to BugGuide, caterpillars are a common host.  We are not certain of the exact species as there are many similar looking possibilities, including Adejeania vexatrix and Hystricia abrupta,  though our top choice is the Spiny Tachina Fly, Paradejeania rutilioides.  According to BugGuide,  Spiny Tachina Fly:  “Adults take nectar, especially from late blooming Asteraceae.
Larval host: the arctiid moth Hemihyalea edwardsii (at least in part of its range …)”  The other insect in the one photo appears to be a Sand Wasp, probably in the subtribe Bembicina, though exact species identification may be impossible.

Sand Wasp and Spiny Tachina Fly

Sand Wasp and Spiny Tachina Fly

Daniel,
Thank you!  I think our Audubon group will be very interested to learn what they were- even though we are mostly bird nerds :)
Thanks!
Pam


Posted 19 October 2009 § Sand Wasps ‡ Comments (0) °

Tachinid Fly

Unknown insect in near the flowers/deck
August 17, 2009
This thing spent most of its time flying about in the flowers, obscuring my view of it. Managed to get this shot when it finally landed on a piece of wood. I thought it might be some sort of wasp but can’t see a stinger.
Eric
Curlew, Washington (just below the Canadian border)

Unknown Robber Fly

Unknown Robber Fly

Hi Eric,
We spent a few minutes browsing through the family Asilidae on BugGuide, without any luck identifying what we believe to be a Robber Fly.  Though we found numerous individuals with this color pattern, we could not find a conclusive match.  We will try to get some assistance from Eric Eaton to identify the species, or at least the genus.
Correction from Eric Eaton
Daniel:
The “robber fly” is actually an atypical tachinid fly, genus Cylindromyia.  Great shot of it, too!  This page from BugGuide gives more information, and there is an “images” tab at the top for more pictures.
Keep up the great work!
Eric

Thanks Eric,
We were going to research Tachinid Flies before posting, but time was running short.

Posted 18 August 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Tachinid Fly: Uramya indita

A Fly in Southeast Arizona
August 4, 2009
Hello,
I was wondering if you can Id this for me…it’s a colourful fly with patterned wings. They seemed not to be bothered at all when we get near them. They are congregating on our glass doors in our building this past month. They came and went and only stuck around for a few weeks. I think it could be some sort of Syrphid fly or a bee fly, but it’s just my guess. :) I’m more into beetles and butterflies. Please help! Thank you! :)
Izzy
Benson, Arizona

Tachinid Fry

Tachinid Fry

Hi Izzy,
When flies are this hairy, it is a very good indication that they might be Tachinid Flies.  We browsed through the archives of BugGuide and identified your Tachinid Fly as Uramya indita, which has no common name.  There is no species information, nor genus information, but on the subfamily Dexiinae page, BugGuide indicates:  “Nearly all members of this subfamily are said to be parasitic on Coleoptera or Lepidoptera larvae.“ The Tachinidae family page of BugGuide indicates:  “Food  Larval stages are parasitoids of other insects. Almost every order of insects is attacked by tachinids, including a few types of non-insect arthropods. Some tachinids are very specific and others can parasitize a wide variety of hosts. The most common hosts are caterpillars.  Life Cycle  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. When fully developed it 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.”tachinid_cu_izzy

Posted 04 August 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Veined Ctunecha 1000 miles off course, and Tachinid Fly

Blue Bug with Orange Head
Wed, Jun 24, 2009 at 5:00 PM
Found this flying through my garage tonight at sunset in southern Ontario, Canada. Wrongly identified it quickly on the net as a Pine False Webworm, but the wings clearly indicate that it is something else. 2nd one I’ve seen in the area in 2 days and am wondering if there is an invasive species to be concerned about.
Jason
Ontario, Canada

questionable Ctenucha

Veined Ctenucha

Hi Jason,
We are a bit puzzled by your specimen, so we are contacting Julian Donahue, a specialist in the Arctiid Moths. This looks like a member of the genus Ctenucha (pronounced “ten U ka”) but BugGuide only list the Virginia Ctenucha, Ctenucha virginica from your area. It more closely resembles the Veined Ctenucha, Ctenucha venosa, but the Butterflies and Moths of North America lists its range as being nearly 1000 miles south and west of Ontario. Hopefully, Julian will give us a prompt reply. The fly in your one photo is a Spiny Tachinid Fly, Paradejeania rutilioides. According to BugGuide, adults take nectar and larvae are internal parasites of Tiger Moth Caterpillars.

Spiny Tachinid Fly and questionable Ctenucha

Spiny Tachinid Fly and Veined Ctenucha

Expert Comment from Julian Donahue
It’s Ctenucha venosa, alright, a species of the Southwest and Mexico.
Are you sure it’s from Ontario, Canada, and not Ontario, California (I don’t know of any California records, but it is more likely to have been accidentally imported here than to Canada).
If it is really from Canada, pass the photo and details on to Dr. Don Lafontaine, the noctuoid specialist at the Canadian National Collection in Ottawa–he would be greatly interested in Canadian records of this species.
Julian

Ed. Comment
Could it be that this unusual sighting is yet another sign of global warming?????

More Expert Commentary
Hi Daniel & Jason -
As Julian points out, this is definitely a noteworthy record if it is from Ontario; the nearest documented records of venosa are from northeastern Kansas. Since this conspicuous species is not known to occur between Kansas and Ontario, where the fauna is quite well-known, it is highly unlikely that this is a natural range expansion as might be the case with ‘global warming’; it more likely represents an accidental introduction by way of plant material (the larvae feed on grasses and sedges). I occasionally identify C. virginica cocoons attached to shipped nusrsery plants – this may be a similar case.
Jason, since this would be the first documented record of this species for Canada and well outside its known range, could you please provide me with the exact locality and date? Even better would be one or more specimens sent here, also with collecting data – I can give you more info if you are able to do this.
Cheers,
Chris
PS – the tachinid fly in the photo is Hystricia abrupta, a widespread species in northeastern North America; Paradejeania rutilioides is a much larger, differently patterned species that occurs in the southwestern US
B. Christian Schmidt, Ph.D.
Entomologist, Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids & Nematodes/.

Posted 25 June 2009 § Tiger Moths and Arctiids ‡ Comments (2) °

Tachinid Fly

What is this fly?
Wed, Jun 3, 2009 at 8:59 PM
I took this photograph at 4:27 pm June 03, 2009 in the Central Okanagan region of British Columbia. The area it was specifically taken in is characterized by grasses and sagebrush. The temperature was about 30 C and sunny. The fly appeared to be feeding on the flower it is currently sitting on (a popular choice as several other bugs were photographed on the same type of flower).
Scott Thomson
Westbank, British Columbia, Canada

Tachinid Fly

Tachinid Fly

Dear Scott,
This is a Tachinid Fly in the genus Cylindromyia, according to images posted to BugGuide, which indicates they are a “common flower visitor in open weedy areas. “  Of Tachinid Flies in general, BugGuide indicates:  “Larval stages are parasitoids of other insects. Almost every order of insects is attacked by tachinids, including a few types of non-insect arthropods. Some tachinids are very specific and others can parasitize a wide variety of hosts. The most common hosts are caterpillars” and “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. When fully developed it 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. “  Since we will be out of the office for a week, we are setting your letter to post live on Saturday at noon.

Posted 06 June 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Tachinid Fly

Yellow fly with a big red bottom
Sun, Feb 8, 2009 at 12:12 AM
This fly I found going between dandelions in Colorado Springs. It has big red eyes and a big red bottom with black hairs, and a more yellowish head. What is it?
Nick DeBarmore
Colorado

Tachinid Fly

Tachinid Fly

Hi Nick,
This is a Tachinid Fly, probably in the genus Adejeania which can be substantiated on BugGuide.  One on the submissions to BugGuide mentions the huge palps of the genus as being distinguishing features, and your photo illustrates this nicely.  Tachinid Flies often visit flowers as adults, and the larvae are parasitic, often on caterpillars.  Here is what BugGuide has to say about the parasitism of Tachinid Flies:  “Larval stages are parasitoids of other insects. Almost every order of insects is attacked by tachinids, including a few types of non-insect arthropods. Some tachinids are very specific and others can parasitize a wide variety of hosts. The most common hosts are caterpillars.
Life Cycle
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. When fully developed it 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.”

Posted 08 February 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Unknown Cricket Parasite is a Fly

Eerie Cricket Thingy
Sat, Nov 8, 2008 at 11:07 AM
Yesterday a mysterious reddish-brown pill shaped object suddenly began emerging from the underside of one of our pet crickets. Looks like some sort of egg, but from what we can tell, cricket eggs don’t look like this. The cricket seemed healthy before this emerged, and was alive for a while when it first appeared, but now is dead. Could it be that some other insect such as a wasp laid its eggs inside the cricket as a host? I’ve heard of them doing this to caterpillars, but crickets? Or is it something else?
Paul and Stella
Los Angeles

Unknown Cricket Parasite: Tachinid Fly???

Unknown Cricket Parasite: Tachinid Fly???

Hi Paul and Stella,
This is a new one for us and we will need to do some research. We will also try to contact Eric Eaton to see if he has an opinion. We, like you, suspect this is some type of internal parasite that has had its meal and is perhaps pupating outside the cricket’s body. It would be interesting to see what, if anything, eventually emerges. If we were betting, we would bet on a Tachinid Fly. Moments after we posted, we found an online article on a Tachinid Fly, Ormia ochracea, that parasitizes crickets.

Unknown Cricket Parasite: Tachinid Fly???

Unknown Cricket Parasite: Tachinid Fly???

Hi, Daniel:
The object protruding from the deceased cricket is indeed a fly puparium (the rigid last larval ’skin’ enclosing a fly pupa). It could certainly be a tachinid fly, but there are also other flies that are parasitic on crickets, especially some members of the flesh fly family (Sarcophagidae). I’d personally be hard-pressed to identify even the adult fly once it emerges, though a dipterist (fly expert) could.
Eric

Posted 09 November 2008 § Crickets, Camel Crickets and Mole Crickets ‡ Comments (1) ° Tagged:

Feather Legged Fly

Feather Legged Fly Images ,Date ,Time ,Location
Fri, Oct 10, 2008 at 9:03 AM
Hi Bugman
I spotted this neat looking bug on a hibiscus in my backyard on July 14 ,2008 at 10:31a.m.
It was just buzzing around and landing on the leafs – not on the orange and yellow flowers. This is the first time I ever saw this kind of bug and have not seen one since. I thought it might
be a wierd species of wasp because of the abdomen. It has a really beautiful color of orange and these wierd looking combs on it’s legs.
Thank’s Once Again! & Have a Great Day!
Brent Hansen
Pinellas County ,Florida

Feather Legged Fly

Feather Legged Fly

Hi Brent,
Thanks so much for allowing us to post your image of a Feather Footed Fly, Trichopoda pennipes. The solid orange abdomen indicates that this is a male Feather Footed Fly. Feather Legged Flies are Tachinid Flies in the family Tachinidae. Here is what BugGuide has to say about this species: “Adult female lays one to several eggs on a hemipteran host. The larvae hatch from the eggs and burrow directly into the bug’s body, though only one larva will survive within each host. The larva feeds on the host internally and eventually a large cream-colored maggot exits from body of the bug (which soon dies). The maggot pupates in a dark reddish-brown puparium in the soil and emerges as an adult about two weeks later. There are up to three generations a year depending on location, and larvae may overwinter in the bodies of overwintering hosts. “We will try to assist you in the identification of other unidentified insects on your website when we have an opportunity. Right now, we are trying to subcategorize our own archives and it is quite a daunting task. Since our site migration, we are trying to learn all the nuances for posting information that are now available to us. It has taken us weeks (we haven’t much spare time) to partially subcategorize 36 pages of our 81 pages of beetle postings. We now realize the subcategorization needs to be more extensive and will need to start at the beginning again, but not until we finish the current task. After that, we plan to further subcategorize True Bugs, Butterflies, Caterpillars and Spiders. The problem is that this “busy work” interferes with our precious posting time of new submissions.

Posted 11 October 2008 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Monarch Caterpillar Metamorphosis and Tachinid Fly Parasites

Monarch Bodysnatchers
Hello, Bugman,
I recently placed 2 large monarch caterpillars in an terrarium with some milkweed, so I could watch them go through metamorphosis. All was well… at first. One morning, I found one of the caterpillars hanging from under a branch, as though ready to pupate, but it was dead, shriveled, and and clear strands hanging from it. There were two small, yellow maggots in the tank, as well as a red pupa. After a bit of searching, I found this site http://www.monarchlab.umn.edu /research/PNE/creasey.aspx . Apparently, an introduced tachinid fly, Lespesia archippivora, was brought over to control cutworms, but attacks non-target species like monarchs as well. Fortunately, the other caterpillar seems to have dodged the bullet, and has formed a lovely chrysalis. Regards,
Emily

Monarch Caterpillar Monarch Chrysalis

Hi Emily,
Thank you for your wonderful letter, excellent photos, precise documentation, and technical research. Though we approve of biological control methods over pesticides, we always question the introduction of biological agents before the total ramifications of the actions are made apparent.

Parasitized Monarch Caterpillar Tachinid Fly larvae and pupa

Posted 12 August 2007 § brush footed butterfly caterpillars ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: