Tachina ferox

Tachina ferox
Tachinid fly, Tachina (Nowickia) ferox, dorsal view
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Tachinidae
Tribe: Tachinini
Genus: Tachina
Subgenus: Nowickia
Species:
T. ferox
Binomial name
Tachina ferox
(Panzer, 1809)
Synonyms
  • Tachina ferox Panzer, 1809
  • Echinomyia nigricornis Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830
  • Fabriciella pandellei Baranov, 1929

Tachina (Nowickia) ferox is a species of fly in the family Tachinidae first described by Georg Wolfgang Franz Panzer in 1809.[1][2][3]


Distribution and habitat

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This species is present in most of Europe.[4] These flies mainly inhabit spruce forest edge, meadows, areas of heath and mountains at an elevation up to 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) above sea level.[5][6]

Description

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Side view

Tachina (Nowickia) ferox can reach a length of 11–15 millimetres (0.43–0.59 in).[5] These flies have a black hairy thorax and a yellow-red abdomen, with a black longitudinal marking in the middle and numerous long straight bristles at the end. Wings are hyaline (glass like), yellowish at the base.[7] Basal half of the palps are brown or blackish. Males are a little concave in theirs dorsal centre. In the abdomen only segments 7 and 8 are hairy.[6]

Biology

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Tachina (Nowickia) ferox is a univoltine species. Adults can be found from mid-June to October, with a peak from June to August. They fed on nectar and pollen, especially of Centaurea jacea.[5] Larvae develop in the dark arches moth (Apamea monoglypha).[5][6][7]

References

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  1. ^ "BioLib.cz". Archived from the original on 2019-12-31. Retrieved 2018-02-24.
  2. ^ Bisby F.A., Roskov Y.R., Orrell T.M., Nicolson D., Paglinawan L.E., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., Baillargeon G., Ouvrard D. Catalogue of Life Archived 2024-04-29 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ O’Hara, James E.; Henderson, Shannon J.; Wood, D. Monty (5 March 2020). "Preliminary Checklist of the Tachinidae (Diptera) of the World" (PDF). Tachinidae Resources. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  4. ^ "Fauna Europaea". Archived from the original on 2023-06-25. Retrieved 2018-02-24.
  5. ^ a b c d "Commanster". Archived from the original on 2020-12-30. Retrieved 2018-02-24.
  6. ^ a b c Hans-Peter Tschorsnig and Benno Herting The Tachinids (Diptera: Tachinidae) of Central Europe: Identification Keys for the Species and Data on Distribution and Ecology. Archived 2021-06-20 at the Wayback Machine State Museum of Natural Science, Stuttgart
  7. ^ a b "Nature Spot". Archived from the original on 2018-02-10. Retrieved 2018-02-24.
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