---

Hello everybody,

this is my first thread in this forum, so I´ll write some words about me. I´m studying veterinary medicine in germany and I´m interested in exotic animal medicine. In this case an adult tarantula (Brachypelma annitha) was infected by nematodes and died suddenly. Around this tarantula some larvae could be found. I tried to incubate them, but I have been in vacation and the larvae just pupated and somehow stopped their ontogenesis. In theraphosid medicine phorids are in suspicion to be vektors for nematode infections. Anyway, maybe you can help me with some ID. Here the larvae & pupae I found:





This is another case. Here we got an adult Aphonopelma calchodes. On the body surface I could collect some spoon-looking eggs of something. Maybe this could be phorids too?





Sorry for bad quality...

Regards
Mark

---

It really looks like a phorid pupa.

---

Definitely Phoridae. Comapre with illustrations on http://www.dipter...?page_id=8

---

Hello,

thanks!
Has anyone of you got a key to the families or phoridae by the larvae?

Regards
Mark

---

Too few phorids are known from larvae. The best lead should be provided by Hnry Disney's book "The Phoridae".

---

Hello,

thanks. Is the book worth it?

Regards
Mark

---

Dunno, don't have it.

---

It's one of those monographs packed full of fascinating information, with something of interest to everyone. But I suspect Henry Disney would be the first to say that we still don't know very much about this family. The book is out of print, I believe and very expensive - worth borrowing if you can!
That's a very distracting avatar, by the way. I have sciarids that walk around my screen just like that!