COMMON NAME

Tachinid Fly

Order

Suborder

Family

Genus

Species

Alias

Diptera

Tachinidae

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Description

They look like common house flies but are usually slightly larger, although there are smaller species. They have bristles on their abdomen. Some have iridescent green colouring, others are brown. Adult flies feed on nectar and honeydew secreted by some bugs such as aphids.

Adult size: 2-20 cm

Out and about

They will be active when its hosts are about. They are mostly found in the tropics and sub-tropics but also in temperate regions all over the world. There are possibly over 10,000 species of tachinid flies worldwide with about 500 known species in Australia. Flies in the genus Rutilia are native to Australia.

Reproduction and Life cycle

The female lays her eggs on or in the host insect where the larvae hatch and feed on it. When the larva is ready to pupate it will move to the ground, although some species will pupate within the host. Pupae remain in the soil over winter emerging as adults when the weather warms up.

To deter

To control

Plants to repel

Plants to attract

Anthemis / Buckwheat / Lemon balm / Pennyroyal / Parsley / Phacelia / Tansy / Crimson Thyme / Coriander / White clover / Alyssum / Marigold / Yarrows

Predators

Why they are Beneficial

The larval stage of these flies are parasitoids of caterpillars, cutworms, stink bugs, squash bugs nymphs, beetle and fly larvae, some true bugs (hemipterans) and beetles (including flea beetle). The adult females are able to locate crickets by their ‘chirps’; the noises made by rubbing their wings together. They then deposit parasitic larvae in the crickets' bodies.

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GALLERY