Dexia rustica

Dexia rustica is a species of fly in the family Tachinidae.[2]

Dexia rustica
Dexia rustica. Dorsal view
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Tachinidae
Subfamily: Dexiinae
Tribe: Dexiini
Genus: Dexia
Species:
D. rustica
Binomial name
Dexia rustica
(Fabricius, 1775)
Synonyms[1]

Distribution and habitat

This species can be found in most of Europe.[3] These tachinids usually inhabit hedge rows and flowery environments.[4][5]

Description
Side view

Dexia rustica can reach a body length of 8.4–12.7 millimetres (0.33–0.50 in) and a wingspan of 16–24 mm.[5] These small tachinids have generally a black thorax, with grayish yellow pruinosity. Four longitudinal black vittae appear on dorsum,[6] Abdomen appears greyish-brown or reddish, with a darker longitudinal dorsal marking, more or less evident. It is cylindric-conic, with two setae among each segment. Probocis is short and membranous.[7] Females usually are darker than males.[8][4] Wings are hyaline, with a reddish yellow tegula and a dark brown basicosta. Legs are reddish yellow.[6]

Biology

Adults can be found from June to August,[4][5] feeding on nectar and pollen, especially of Heracleum sphondylium.[5]

Larvae develop in the soil feeding on beetle larvae (endoparasitism),[4] mainly of Melolontha melolontha,[5] Amphimallon solstitialis, Rhizotrogus marginipes[6] and Phyllopertha horticola (Scarabaeidae).[9]

References
  1. Catalogue of life Catalogue of life
  2. Biolib
  3. Fauna europaea
  4. Bob Gibbons Field Guide to Insects of Britain and Northern Europe
  5. J.K. Lindsey Commanster
  6. Chun-Tian Zhang, Xiao-Lin Chen A review of the genus Dexia Meigen in the Palearctic and Oriental Regions Diptera Tachinidae in Zootaxa · December 2010
  7. John Obadiah Westwood An Introduction to the Modern Classification of Insects Vol II (1840)
  8. James E. O'Hara, Hiroshi Shima, & Chuntian Zhang. "Annotated Catalogue of the Tachinidae (Insecta: Diptera) of China." Zootaxa 2190 (2009): 1-236.
  9. Encyclopedia of life
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.