An unusual fly - Tachinid Dejeania

JoanYoung · Post by **JoanYoung** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 8:04 pm

It was an interesting walk with butterflies and caterpillars still found although not in as great numbers.

This unusual fly is known to parasitize only the African Boll Worm Helicoverpa armigera. He is about 10mm in body length with about a 20mm wingspan.

crazybread · Post by **crazybread** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 9:45 pm

yeah it is unusual. Nice shot. The fly looks ultra fat. Cool eyes, Anyways. I know nothing about flies, but they're not like that where I come from.

Roy Patience · Post by **Roy Patience** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 10:14 pm

Joan,

This one is very good both technically and artistically. What an unusual fly–those black spikes are unusual and strange eyes too. What about that shiny "wart" on its back.

We don't have many unusual bugs like this in Southern California.

Roy

JoanYoung · Post by **JoanYoung** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 11:27 pm

Thanks for commenting Crazybread and Roy, and the kind words.

We do have some strange insects here in South Africa and until I started doing close-up / macro photography, I never even noticed them. It is amazing what I am finding now.

Harold Gough · Post by **Harold Gough** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 12:47 am

Very smart! Those antennne, short, with a sort of disc with a short filament protruding from it, are diagnostic for two-winged flies (Diptera), athough some, such as mosquitos, have a different arrangement.

Harold

JoanYoung · Post by **JoanYoung** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 1:58 am

LOL!! This country bumpkin found the info in my insect book. It does not have a lot, just the most common ones, so most of the time I cannot put a name to the insects I take pictures of, but sometimes, like this, I actually find it there.

Thanks Harold, I am learning a lot when people like you give me handy information like that of the antennae.

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 1:55 pm

That is a pretty cool looking fly.

Occasionally I may see one like this or similar but not to often.

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 3:21 pm

Indeed that is one strange-looking fly!

I presume from the topic title that this is a Tachinid fly (Diptera:Tachinidae) in the genus Dejeania.

You might be amused to know that there is a New World genus named Adejeania ("not Dejeania"), that is almost as strange looking. See http://bugguide.net/node/view/25865/bgpage and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adejeania . Most of the species are South American; there's one in the U.S.

--Rik

JoanYoung · Post by **JoanYoung** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 6:55 pm

Very interesting links Rik, thanks. They are very similar aren't they, mine is just darker and not so red.