Species: Tachinid fly - unnamed 2 (Eriothrix rufomaculata)
Family: Tachinid flies (TACHINIDAE)
Category: Insects (Other)
Location: Widespread
A. Insects (Other)
More extensive information on insects can be found in a separate blog post.
B. Tachinid flies (TACHINIDAE)
Tachinid flies have perhaps 8,000 or more different species. In general, they parasitise other insects.
C. Tachinid fly - unnamed 2 (Eriothrix rufomaculata)
This tachinid fly grows to between 5 and 10 millimetres. It has a grey thorax and a distinctive black and red abdomen, the red showing as two side patches, the black as a dorsal stripe. In common with many other tachinid flies (see the less colourful Phania funesta), it also has unusually long bristles.
These flies feed on flowers from July to October, visiting umbellifers and oxeye daisies. This species is common throughout Britain.
Larvae of this species are parasitic, developing inside the larvae of moths.
Images
Tachinid fly - unnamed 2
This tachinid fly grows to between 5 and 10 millimetres.
Tachinid fly - unnamed 2
Eriothrix rufomaculata has a grey thorax and a distinctive black and red abdomen, the red showing as two side patches, the black as a dorsal stripe.
Tachinid fly - unnamed 2
This species of fly - rather bizarrely - showed up on four separate occasions on the same day in July 2022, having never been seen before in the Cemetery. Its rather distinctive colouring is unmistakeable.
