Bristly Tachinid Fly (Tachinidae, Diptera) on Coyote Bush (Baccharis pilularis, Asteraceae)
This is an impressive bristly Tachinid Fly in the family Tachinidae of the order Diptera on new staminate flower heads of native Coyote Bush (Baccharis pilularis) in the Asteraceae plant family. It seems to be missing pieces of its front and rear legs - maybe the work of an Ambush Bug (family Phymatidae) in the order Hemiptera? (See this photo.) (San Marcos Pass, 22 September 2012)
Adult Tachinid Flies visit flowers, but their larvae are parasitic on other insects in the woods and help control them. They are beneficial - except for the insects they parasitize!
Bristly Tachinid Fly (Tachinidae, Diptera) on Coyote Bush (Baccharis pilularis, Asteraceae)
This is an impressive bristly Tachinid Fly in the family Tachinidae of the order Diptera on new staminate flower heads of native Coyote Bush (Baccharis pilularis) in the Asteraceae plant family. It seems to be missing pieces of its front and rear legs - maybe the work of an Ambush Bug (family Phymatidae) in the order Hemiptera? (See this photo.) (San Marcos Pass, 22 September 2012)
Adult Tachinid Flies visit flowers, but their larvae are parasitic on other insects in the woods and help control them. They are beneficial - except for the insects they parasitize!