These are tachinid flies.
They are small flies. Some look like house flies. They help us by eating pests. This helps plants grow well.
Can you find a fly?
These are tachinid flies.
They are very common flies. Some look like house flies. Most look a bit fuzzy.
These flies have a special way of growing. A mother fly lays eggs on another insect. The eggs hatch into tiny maggots. The maggots live inside the other insect. They eat the host to grow big. Some flies even visit flowers for food. This helps plants grow by moving pollen. They are very busy insects!
Tachinid flies are a large group of insects.
There are more than 8,200 known species. They live in many places around the world. Some look like house flies. Most are more robust and have many bristles.
These flies have a very special way of growing. Most are parasitoids. This means their young, called larvae, live inside another insect. The larvae eat the host to grow. This usually kills the host.
Mothers use different ways to lay eggs. Some lay white eggs on the skin of a host. Others use an ovipositor, which is an egg-laying tool, to inject eggs inside. Some even lay eggs on leaves for the host to eat.
Adult flies do not live inside other insects. They visit flowers to find food. They drink nectar for power. They also eat pollen for nutrients. This helps plants grow. As they move, they carry pollen from flower to flower. This makes them important pollinators.
Tachinid flies are a huge and diverse family of insects.
There are more than 8,200 known species in this group. In North America alone, scientists have described over 1,300 different species. These flies live in almost every part of the world. They are especially diverse in South America. Most adult flies look quite plain and drab. They often look like common house flies. However, many tachinids are more robust and have many bristles.
They also have a special bulge on their bodies called a postscutellum. This feature helps people identify them.
Most tachinid flies have a very unusual way of growing. They are often protelean parasitoids. This means the young larvae live inside a host insect. The larvae eat the host's tissues to grow. This process usually kills the host insect.
The larvae are often caterpillars from moths or butterflies. Some species even attack beetles, grasshoppers, or bees. The mothers use many different ways to reach their hosts. Some lay white eggs on the skin of the host. Other flies use an egg-laying tool called an ovipositor. This tool acts like an egg digger to inject eggs inside.
Some species even lay eggs on leaves for the host to eat.
People have studied these flies for a long time. The name Tachinidae was first used by Robineau-Desvoidy in 1830. He originally called them "Tachinariae." There was once some confusion with a different family of beetles. A scientist named Fleming used a similar name in 1821. To fix this, the ICZN changed the beetle name to Tachinusidae in 1993. This ensures that the name Tachinidae belongs only to these flies. Understanding these names helps scientists keep their records straight.
These flies play a big role in nature and farming. Many tachinids are natural enemies of insect pests. Farmers sometimes use them for biological pest control. This means they use the flies to stop bad insects from eating crops. However, some tachinids can be pests themselves. The Uzi fly is a famous example that attacks silkworms. This can cause big problems for the silk industry.
Other flies, like the Compsilura concinnata, are not safe for farmers. This is because they attack 200 different kinds of hosts. They might attack good insects instead of just the pests.
Adult tachinids are important for many plants. They are not parasitic when they are adults. Instead, they visit flowers to find energy. They drink nectar for power and eat pollen for nutrients.
This makes them helpful pollinators. In high places like mountains, they are very important. In New Zealand, they are the most common flower visitors in alpine areas. Some flies have very long mouthparts called a proboscis. This helps them reach deep into flowers. Some orchids even use trickery to attract these flies. They mimic female flies to trick the males into moving pollen.
Tachinidae is a massive and highly diverse family of true flies. These insects belong to the order Diptera. Scientists have identified more than 8,200 known species within this group. Many more species are still waiting to be discovered by researchers. In North America alone, over 1,300 species have been described. These flies live in almost every part of the world. They are especially diverse in the regions of South America.
Most members of this family are protelean parasitoids. This means the larvae are parasitic, but the adults are not. The larvae develop inside a living host and usually kill it. This is different from true parasites, which do not generally kill their hosts. Tachinid larvae feed on the tissues of the host insect. They can be endoparasites, which live inside the host's body. They can also be external, attacking from the outside. They often target caterpillars from moths and butterflies. However, they also attack beetles, grasshoppers, bees, and even centipedes.
Female tachinids use several different strategies to reach their hosts. Many females lay white, oval eggs on the skin of a host. Some genera, like Gymnosoma, use this method. Other species are ovoviviparous, meaning they deposit a hatching larva directly onto the host. For example, certain species in Ghana lay larvae on the Danaus chrysippus butterfly. Some flies use an ovipositor to inject eggs into the host. This organ is sometimes called an oviscapt, which means "egg digger."
Other species lay small eggs on the food plants of the host. This way, the host will eat the eggs by mistake. Some even use an ambush technique to attack a passing host.
Taxonomy, or the science of naming groups, is quite complex for this family. The name Tachinidae was first proposed by Robineau-Desvoidy in 1830. He originally called the group "Tachinariae." There was once confusion with a beetle family named by Fleming in 1821. To fix this, the ICZN invalidated the beetle name in 1993. They changed the beetle name to Tachinusidae. This ensures that Tachinidae refers only to these flies. Scientists still use physical traits to study and name these species today.
Adult tachinids have a very specific appearance. Most are drab and look like common house flies. However, they are usually more robust and bristly. They have three-segmented antennae and a prominent postscutellum. The postscutellum is a bulge located beneath the scutellum on the body.
Some species are brilliantly colored and resemble blow-flies. Their mouthparts can also vary greatly. Most are short-tongued and feed on easy nectar. Some have a long proboscis, which is a specialized mouthpart. The species Prosena siberita has a proboscis half its body length.
These flies are very important for both nature and agriculture. Many tachinids are natural enemies of insect pests. Farmers use them for biological pest control to protect crops. However, some species can be problematic. The Uzi fly is a notorious pest of silkworms in the silk industry.
Other flies, like Compsilura concinnata, are risky for biological control. This species uses at least 200 different hosts. This makes it likely to attack beneficial insects instead of just pests.
Adult tachinids also play a role in pollination. They visit flowers to get nectar for energy and pollen for nutrients. This helps them live longer and produce more offspring. They are particularly important pollinators in high-elevation ecosystems. In New Zealand, they are the most common visitors to alpine plants.
Some orchids have even evolved to use the flies. Certain orchids use sexual deception to trick male flies. The flowers mimic female tachinids to lure the males in. When the males attempt to mate, they move pollen from one flower to another.
Where will your curiosity go next?
🖼️ Images & Media (6)
More to explore
✨ What else?
Related topics you might enjoy
What is Nepedia?
A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.