Re: Africa Wild Insect Book Flies Photos & Descriptions
Posted: Wed May 27, 2020 7:42 am
Family Tachinidae (Bristled Flies, Tachinids)
Superfamily Oestroidea. Family Tachinidae
Tachinidae are a large and cosmopolitan family of flies within the superfamily Oestroidea.
There are well over 100 families in the order Diptera, and most of them are comprised entirely of species with free-living larvae. There are, however, about 20 families with at least some species classed as parasitoids, species that live within other animals as larvae and kill their hosts before progressing on to the adult stage. About 16,000 of the approximately 120,000 described species of Diptera are parasitoids, and about 10,000 of them belong to a single family, the Tachinidae. The Tachinidae are a large cosmopolitan family of flies that are parasitoids of other arthropods, primarily other insects, including important insect pests in agriculture.
Tachinid larvae feed on the host tissues, either after having been injected into the host by the parent, or penetrating the host from outside. Various species have different modes of oviposition and of host invasion. Typically, Tachinid larvae are endoparasites (internal parasites) of caterpillars of butterflies and moths, or the larvae of sawflies. For example, they have been found to lay eggs in African sugarcane borer larva, a species of moth common in sub-Saharan Africa.
Probably the majority of female Tachinids lay eggs onto the skin of the host insect. Some genera are effectively ovoviviparous (ovolarviparous) and deposit a hatching larva onto the host. The free larvae immediately bore into the host's body. Many other species inject eggs into the host's body, using the extensible, penetrating part of their ovipositor, sometimes called the oviscapt.
Another reproductive strategy is to leave the eggs in the host's environment, for example the female might lay on leaves, where the host is likely to ingest them. Some tachinids that are parasitoids of stem-boring caterpillars deposit eggs outside the host's burrow, letting the first instar larvae do the work of finding the host for themselves. In other species, the maggots use an ambush technique, waiting for the host to pass and then attacking it and burrowing into its body.
Adult Tachinids are not parasitic, but either do not feed at all or visit flowers, decaying matter, or similar sources of energy to sustain themselves until they have concluded their procreative activities.
Tachinid flies range in size from 2 to 20 mm, and most of them are larger than a house fly and noticeably more robust and more bristly, especially on thoracic dorsum and third to fifth abdominal segments; however, across the family there is a tremendous variety of shapes, colors, and degree of bristling. Some are brilliantly colored and resemble blow-flies (Calliphoridae). Most however are rather drab, some resembling house flies.
They have three-segmented antennae. They are aristate flies, and the arista usually is bare, though sometimes plumose. The calypters (small flaps above the halteres) are usually very large. Their median vein bends away sharply. In addition to features shared with other families of the super family Oestroidea (Rhinophoridae, Sarcophagidae, Calliphoridae, and Oestridae), adult tachinids can be recognized by the developed postscutellum bulging beneath the scutellum (a segment of the mesonotum).
Wing venation is a very important part of keying any tachinid: http://tachinidae.org.uk/blog/?page_id=809
The Tachinidae are by far the largest family of Afrotropical Diptera in terms of genera. The family is divided into four subfamilies: Dexiinae, Exoristinae, Phasiinae, and Tachininae. There are 237 genera, of which 101 (43%) are endemic to the region. Of the 1126 species recorded, a total of 1043 (93%) are endemic.
Insects in this family commonly are called tachinid flies or bristled flies.
Links:
Annals of the Natal Museum - Annotated keys to the genera of Tachinidae: https://journals.co.za/content/annals/2 ... 040798_481
Annotated catalogue of the Tachinidae (Insecta, Diptera) of the Afrotropical Region https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4829880/
Superfamily Oestroidea. Family Tachinidae
Tachinidae are a large and cosmopolitan family of flies within the superfamily Oestroidea.
There are well over 100 families in the order Diptera, and most of them are comprised entirely of species with free-living larvae. There are, however, about 20 families with at least some species classed as parasitoids, species that live within other animals as larvae and kill their hosts before progressing on to the adult stage. About 16,000 of the approximately 120,000 described species of Diptera are parasitoids, and about 10,000 of them belong to a single family, the Tachinidae. The Tachinidae are a large cosmopolitan family of flies that are parasitoids of other arthropods, primarily other insects, including important insect pests in agriculture.
Tachinid larvae feed on the host tissues, either after having been injected into the host by the parent, or penetrating the host from outside. Various species have different modes of oviposition and of host invasion. Typically, Tachinid larvae are endoparasites (internal parasites) of caterpillars of butterflies and moths, or the larvae of sawflies. For example, they have been found to lay eggs in African sugarcane borer larva, a species of moth common in sub-Saharan Africa.
Probably the majority of female Tachinids lay eggs onto the skin of the host insect. Some genera are effectively ovoviviparous (ovolarviparous) and deposit a hatching larva onto the host. The free larvae immediately bore into the host's body. Many other species inject eggs into the host's body, using the extensible, penetrating part of their ovipositor, sometimes called the oviscapt.
Another reproductive strategy is to leave the eggs in the host's environment, for example the female might lay on leaves, where the host is likely to ingest them. Some tachinids that are parasitoids of stem-boring caterpillars deposit eggs outside the host's burrow, letting the first instar larvae do the work of finding the host for themselves. In other species, the maggots use an ambush technique, waiting for the host to pass and then attacking it and burrowing into its body.
Adult Tachinids are not parasitic, but either do not feed at all or visit flowers, decaying matter, or similar sources of energy to sustain themselves until they have concluded their procreative activities.
Tachinid flies range in size from 2 to 20 mm, and most of them are larger than a house fly and noticeably more robust and more bristly, especially on thoracic dorsum and third to fifth abdominal segments; however, across the family there is a tremendous variety of shapes, colors, and degree of bristling. Some are brilliantly colored and resemble blow-flies (Calliphoridae). Most however are rather drab, some resembling house flies.
They have three-segmented antennae. They are aristate flies, and the arista usually is bare, though sometimes plumose. The calypters (small flaps above the halteres) are usually very large. Their median vein bends away sharply. In addition to features shared with other families of the super family Oestroidea (Rhinophoridae, Sarcophagidae, Calliphoridae, and Oestridae), adult tachinids can be recognized by the developed postscutellum bulging beneath the scutellum (a segment of the mesonotum).
Wing venation is a very important part of keying any tachinid: http://tachinidae.org.uk/blog/?page_id=809
The Tachinidae are by far the largest family of Afrotropical Diptera in terms of genera. The family is divided into four subfamilies: Dexiinae, Exoristinae, Phasiinae, and Tachininae. There are 237 genera, of which 101 (43%) are endemic to the region. Of the 1126 species recorded, a total of 1043 (93%) are endemic.
Insects in this family commonly are called tachinid flies or bristled flies.
Links:
Annals of the Natal Museum - Annotated keys to the genera of Tachinidae: https://journals.co.za/content/annals/2 ... 040798_481
Annotated catalogue of the Tachinidae (Insecta, Diptera) of the Afrotropical Region https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4829880/