Subject: tiny and pretty fly
Location: Wildwood picnic area, Angeles National Forest
August 25, 2016 10:37 pm
This cute little thing I found in Angeles Forest today. I am stumped as to what it is. It was very small. Is it a Pokemon?
Signature: Jessica Chortkoff

Possibly Tachinid Fly

Dear Jessica,
We believe this is a parasitoid Tachinid Fly, but we cannot find any matching images on BugGuide, though we have to admit, we just browsed.  We will try to get a second opinion.

Eric Eaton writes back.
Daniel:
I did find it on Bugguide using the advanced search for Tachinidae in California….
Vanderwulpia atrophopodoides
http://bugguide.net/node/view/773788
Eric

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Subject: Bee?
Location: Mogollon Rim near Payson AZ
July 31, 2016 11:03 am
Good Morning!
I found this colorful insect on a flower in the Tonto National Forest in Eastern Arizona July 30, 2016.
We were hiking along the Mogollon rim at an elevation of 5,000 feet.
Thanks for your help!
Signature: Ann in Arizona

Tachinid Fly

Dear Ann,
This Tachinid Fly in the family Tachinidae might be Macromya crocata based on this BugGuide image, though there are many other members of the family that look quite similar.  Another possibility is that this might be Adejeania vexatrix which according to BugGuide:  “Bristles concentrated in rings adjacent to the joints between abdominal segments. In the strikingly similar Hystricia abrupta, the bristles are scattered across the surface of the abdomen.”

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Subject: What type of bug is this?
Location: South Africa
July 10, 2016 10:46 am
Please can you identify what bug this is?
Kind regards
Signature: Cherise Walker

Tachinid Fly

Dear Cherise,
This is a Bristle Fly or Tachinid Fly in the family Tachinidae, a group of parasitoid species that prey upon a variety of creatures.  According to BugGuide:  “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.”  This individual on iSpot looks similar to your individual.

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Subject: Stumped by a fly
Location: andover township, nj
July 1, 2015 5:17 am
Hi Daniel,
I found this very interesting fly in my garden yesterday and I have been completely unsuccessful in finding an ID for it. Hoping you can help. One thing that was interesting was that it had a thick line of “feathering” on its hind leg. I’ve cropped these photos so that you can see the detail.
Hope you can help!
Signature: Deborah

Feather Legged Fly

Hi Deborah,
Your Feather Legged Fly has some noticeable differences when compared to the images on BugGuide of Trichopoda pennipes, but we are still relatively confident in that as the identification.  The BugGuide description is:  “Bright orange abdomen, velvety black head and thorax, and a fringe of short black hairs on the hind legs. Male: ferrugineous spot in the wing, abdomen dark orange at apex; female: wing evenly dusky, abdominal tip black.”  The biggest difference is the black abdomen on your individual, which just may be an example of variation within the species.  Your side view clearly shows the feathered hind legs.  This Feather Legged Fly is an important biological control agent, and BugGuide lists the hosts as:  “various pentatomorph bugs (Coreidae, Largidae, Pentatomidae, Scutelleridae) …  Anasa tristis is an important common host.” 

Feather Legged Fly

Udate:  In looking through our own archives, this might be Trichopoda lanipes.

Thank you, Daniel!  That does look like my fly!  As always, I appreciate your assistance.
Debbi

Feather Legged Fly

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