Thread subject: Diptera.info :: Same Tachinidae or not?

Posted by Nikita Vikhrev on 18-05-2006 15:15
#1
Moscow, park, 18 may, in mass, 7-9mm.
Looks for me as Phorocera obscura from 13may, same city, place in 3-4 km, thread http://www.diptera.info/forum/viewthread.php?forum_id=5&thread_id=1654
I can't find sugnifical difference, but all Tachinidas from 13may was between 5-6mm.
Nikita

Posted by Zeegers on 18-05-2006 16:52
#2
Hi Nikita

It is Phorocera obscura, as suspected by you.
Parasitic insects are notorious for the variability when it comes to length. Bombyllidae even more so than Tachinidae.
So don't bother too much about size: 6 mm. or 8 mm. is not of significance. (6 or 16 mm. is).

Theo

Posted by Robert Nash on 18-05-2006 17:16
#3
Hi Zeegers (and all) Carrion feeding (sarcosaprophagous)Diptera also vary in size often dramatically. I just had a series of Lucilia sericata (Calliphoridae) from a single (Istanbul) trap varying in length from a tiny 3mm. to 8mm. This may be due to either larva being underfed on small fragments of food or in intense competition in a larval mass. In such masses the temperature can be very high. I also remember reading a paper on bred Tachinidae in which it was claimed the chaetotaxy of the emergent individuals varied with size. Robert

Posted by Nikita Vikhrev on 18-05-2006 18:20
#4
Thank you.
Well, I'll try to get rid of size doubts.
Nikita

Posted by Nikita Vikhrev on 18-05-2006 22:27
#5
Shock In my key Phorocera obscura has unusualy wide size range 4-11mm!