Gotta luv these flies

Tony T · Post by **Tony T** » Wed Dec 26, 2007 6:48 pm

This species is a parasitoid of Tiger Moth caterpillars.
Diptera: Tachinidae: Hystricia abrupta

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Wed Dec 26, 2007 7:06 pm

Its butt reminds me of a bore brush for a canon but it is a really great shot there Tony, tons of detail.

beetleman · Post by **beetleman** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 10:53 am

An incredible looking fly and photo Tony. I can see why you like to photograph them (and you do it sooooo well).

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 11:36 am

Well now, that is one flashy fly! I see that BugGuide has some more pictures of this species (guide page here). They also mixed into the lineup a different but similar appearing beast Adejeania with very long mouthparts. (The comments point this out.)

Hhmm... I see that Wikipedia has a page for Adejeania but not for Hystricia. A Western bias perhaps?

Google search on Hystricia turns up quite a few more shots, mosty in the wild, including one very nice one here.

Not much info posted on life history, though -- all I ran across was one page for a related species listing hosts as "Arctiidae" (a family containing the Tiger Moths, among others).

Did you rear this one, Tony, or catch it on the loose?

--Rik