Repetitive Tachinid Fly - (Peleteria iterans)

What the Repetitive Tachinid Fly lacks in looks, it makes up for in ecological importance it controls damaging moth populations.

Staff Writer (9/12/2014): Few would think that flies would be such important members of an ecosystem. Tachinid flies, though somewhat unusual in appearance, are considered important biological controls. Each species is a parasitoid for a type of moth. Moths can be destructive to plants thanks to the voracious appetites of their larval caterpillars. A parasitoid like the Repetitive Tachinid Fly helps keep caterpillar numbers in check, sparing food producing plants.

Female flies lay a fertilized egg either directly on, or in front of, a hungry moth caterpillar. The egg will hatch and the fly larva (maggot) proceeds to eat the caterpillar to death, from the inside. This makes the fly larva a parasitoid, not a parasite that usually moves on to another host before killing its current host.

Adult flies drink flower nectar, especially from asters and their relatives. They are most active from summer and into autumn. They can be found in a variety of habitats: woods, open fields, marshes, coastlines, meadows, parks and forests.

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Details of the:
Repetitive Tachinid Fly

Category: Fly or Mosquito
Common name: Repetitive Tachinid Fly
Scientific Name: Peleteria iterans

Taxonomy:

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Insecta

Order: Diptera

Family: Tachinidae

Genus: Peleteria

Species: iterans

Size (Adult, Length): 9mm to 13mm (0.35in to 0.51in)

Identifying Colors: yellow, black

Additional Descriptors: spots, hairy, stout, bristles, spiky, fast, fat, dots, spots

North American Reach (Though Not Limited To*): Alabama; Alaska; Arizona; Arkansas; California; Colorado; Connecticut; Delaware; Florida; Georgia; Hawaii; Idaho; Illinois; Indiana; Iowa; Kansas; Kentucky; Louisiana; Maine; Maryland; Massachusetts; Michigan; Minnesota; Mississippi; Missouri; Montana; Nebraska; Nevada; New Hampshire; New Jersey; New Mexico; New York; North Carolina; North Dakota; Ohio; Oklahoma; Oregon; Pennsylvania; Rhode Island; South Carolina; South Dakota; Tennessee; Texas; Utah; Vermont; Virginia; Washington; West Virginia; Wisconsin; Wyoming; Alberta; British Columbia; Manitoba; New Brunswick; Newfoundland and Labrador; Nova Scotia; Ontario; Prince Edward Island; Quebec; Saskatchewan; Mexico

* Keep in mind that an insect's reach is not limited by lines on a map and therefore may appear in areas/regions/states beyond those listed above.

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