Parasitic on What? - _TNY_1701
This fly on a cow parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris) is a male parasitic fly in the Gymnosoma genus. There are as it often is several quite similar species, but a more knowledgable friend believes it to be a G.nudifrons (no vernacular English name).
I have noticed that quite a lot of people become afraid of parasitic flies when they hear the name which I suspect conjures up images of bot flies and similar laying eggs under human skin. These don't. But what do they parasitise on then?
Well, it depends on the species, but this particular one (not this particular one as it is a male) lay their eggs on shield bugs and the larvae then parasitize on them. So, unless you're a shield bug, you don't need to be overly afraid...
Parasitic on What? - _TNY_1701
This fly on a cow parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris) is a male parasitic fly in the Gymnosoma genus. There are as it often is several quite similar species, but a more knowledgable friend believes it to be a G.nudifrons (no vernacular English name).
I have noticed that quite a lot of people become afraid of parasitic flies when they hear the name which I suspect conjures up images of bot flies and similar laying eggs under human skin. These don't. But what do they parasitise on then?
Well, it depends on the species, but this particular one (not this particular one as it is a male) lay their eggs on shield bugs and the larvae then parasitize on them. So, unless you're a shield bug, you don't need to be overly afraid...