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Golden-brown Tachinid Fly

Tachininae sp

Photo by Christiane
Published on Project Noah
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-19.4921, 146.931

Field Notes

Description:

I think I just witnessed the beginning of the end of the beautiful catterpillar..
It looks like this "Fly" is laying eggs on the head of the caterpillar!

Habitat:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMjMb42zVTg&feature=youtu.be

Notes:

All Tachinid Flies share the parasitoid habit. Their larvae are internal parasites of many orders and families of insects (and a few other arthropods). Their host ranges are relatively broad. They parasites on larvae of moths, larvae of butterflies, larvae and adults of beetles, adults of bugs, or adults of various orthopteroid orders, such as grasshoppers and stick insects. Depending on species, they develop either singly or in grope and either pupate in the dead host or leave the host and pupate in soil or plant litter.

Reference Links:

Golden-brown Tachinid Fly - ? sp.

Species ID Suggestions

Hawkmoth

Daphnis hypothous

Reference Link
MartinL
1

Golden-brown Tachinid Fly

Family Tachinidae

Reference Link
MartinL
1

Comments (25)
bayucca
Eat or being eaten... The same fight as everyday in nature... Excellent documentation!!
KarenL
Poor thing! I would have to wash the eggs off!
Ashish
Thanks Martin.. You are Genius...!! Keep sharing your knowledge and make Project Noah precious..!!
MartinL
Christiane, you may like to try an experiment and remove the sticky eggs with cotton buds and soapy water or carefully with tweezers.
Christiane
@ Martin do you know this one?? http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/9100940
Christiane
http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/9189182 this is the Caterpillar before the FLY ATTACK!!
MartinL
You have a hawkmoth (Daphnis hypothous) . Maybe there is always someting else to learn and so the spotting is never quite complete =)
Christiane
WOW.. Thanks you.. Now the Spotting is complete.
MartinL
Christiane, this is an excellent spotting of nature at her best (or worst). This seems cruel but in biology there is no free lunch and you can understand why some moths need to lay 1000 eggs. Your predator is a tachinid fly http://www.brisbaneinsects.com/brisbane_tachinids/GoldenBrownTachinidFly.html and the eggs mean a life sentence usually for the caterpillar. See my spotting here http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/7998042
Christiane
Thanks ShannaB.. I hope to find the ID for the "FLY"..
ShannaB
Oh WOW, AMAZING spotting. Well done.
Atul
beautifully documented spotting Christiane!
Christiane
Thanks Heather.. I can't help with the ID.. Maybe MartinL can help..
Christiane
NO WAY!! I help the whales in nets or the eagle in barbed wire.. But not nature going its way!
HeatherMiller
This is definitely an example of how to document our world. Fabulous!!! Good commentary, good camera work, great video. Now we need an ID.
Maria dB
Great spotting. The video is wonderful. Weren't you tempted to try to wipe the eggs off?
HeatherMiller
Well that has to be of the most interesting spottingss documented on here with beautiful camera work. The first and last picture are excellent.

Spotted for Missions

Mission
Hunters & Animal Food Habits
Photographed
PublishedFebruary 27, 2012

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