Dec 17, 2021
If it's Friday, it must be "Friday Fly Day!"
And a perfect day to post an image of a fly.
This is a female tachinid, genus Peleteria, in the family Tachinidae. It is perched on a lavender in Vacaville, Calif. The genus is characterized by two prominent setae in front of the lower part of the eye.
I've seen tachinids lay eggs in monarch caterpillars and in monarch chrysalids. The fly larvae eat the host from the inside out. The hostess with the mostest?
However, tachinids are considered important biological controls because they lay their eggs in such pests as cabbage white butterfly larvae (Pieris rapae).
See the UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management website for more on tachinids.
Interesting critters, don't you think?
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