South CoastBioblitz! The Eurobodalla Regional Botanic Garden Eurobodalla National Park Gulaga / Mt Dromedary Fauna Flora Islands National Parks and Reserves Wallaga Lake

Pictured is the Tachinid Bristle Fly (Trigonospila sp) in the Eurobodalla Botanic Gardens, NSW.

The sharp elbow in the third radial wing vein is indicative of the Tachinid flies.

The T. brevifacies, is parasitoid on other insects, particularly the larvae of lepidopterans. T. cingulata is thought to parasite on chrysomelid beetle larvae.

Both species are native to the eastern states of Australia.

T. brevifacies has been introduced to New Zealand to control certain agricultural pests, including the light brown apple moth, Epiphyas postvittana and the potato tuber moth, Phthorimaea operculella. Of the 18 known hosts that it predates upon, 10 are regarded as agricultural pests. It is therefore an important species for agriculture.

The gap between the eyes might make it a female??

Tachinid Bristle Fly (Trigonospila sp), Eurobodalla Botanic Gardens NSW © Phil Warburton
Tachinid Bristle Fly (Trigonospila sp), Eurobodalla Botanic Gardens NSW © Phil Warburton

  • Scientific classification
  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Arthropoda
  • Subphylum: Hexapoda
  • Class: Insecta
  • Informal: Pterygotes
  • Order: Diptera
  • Unranked: Cyclorrhapha
  • Informal: Schizophora
  • Informal: Calyptratae
  • Superfamily: Oestroidea
  • Family: Tachinidae
  • Subfamily: Goniinae
  • Tribe: Blondeliini
  • Genus: Trigonospila
  • Species:
    • Trigonospila brevifacies
    • Trigonospila cingulata

Footnote & References

  1. Photographs © Phil Warburton
  2. Phil in NSW, Phil Warburton, Flickr, https://www.flickr.com/photos/philipnsw
  3. Philwarb, iNaturalistAU, https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/people/philwarb
  4. Eurobodalla National Park, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/visit-a-park/parks/eurobodalla-national-park
  5. Parks and Forests, Eurobodalla Coast Tourism, https://eurobodalla.com.au/things-to-do/parks-forests/

South CoastBioblitz! The Eurobodalla Regional Botanic Garden Eurobodalla National Park Gulaga / Mt Dromedary Fauna Flora Islands National Parks and Reserves Wallaga Lake

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