Tachinidae

This family is part of the superfamily Calyptratae, or Calyptrate Muscoid Flies, which include common house flies, bot flies, blow files, flesh flies, etc. the family Tachinidae is the second largest of the order Diptera, with about 1,350 known North American species. Some ways of distinguishing Tachinids from other similar flies is that their aristae (the hair extension from the third segment of the antennae) is not hairy, they have a large lobe under their last dorsal thoracic segment, and have bristles in two small regions under the wing joint. Tachinid flies are fairly common, and come in a variety of colors.

Diptera; Calyptratae; Oestroidea; Tachinidae

In general, Tachinids are large, bristly flies and tend to be parasitoids, specifically larvae of other insects such as those in Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. They parasitize the host either by laying an egg directly on the host, after which the egg hatches and the larvae enters and feeds on the host, or they lay eggs on plant and the egg is ingested by the host or the egg hatches and attaches to a host on its own. The host is nearly always killed, thus Tachinids are parasitoids, not parasites (which usually leave the host alive). The parasitoid can affect the host's behavior as well, causing it to feed on differently or extending its pupal life span to allow the parasitoid to grow and feed for longer. Many Tachinids can appear wasplike or beelike as well, the following are two examples.

Dipteran and Chilopoda (Centipede)

I went on an excursion today to try to find new insects. The usual trail was open again, so we went and I collected insects and more caterpillar feed. I decided to get some leafy ground weeds since grass is hardly nutritious and these caterpillars seem to crave variety in their diet. Most of the wild ones were smaller than my six, so I must be doing something right.

As for the non-insect specimen collected today, here are lovely pictures:

Arthropoda; Chilopoda; Scolopendromorpha; Scolopendridae; Scolopendra polymorpha
Common Name: Common Desert Centipede

This species comes in a variety of colors, hence the species name polymorpha. Its color range includes orange, yellow, blue, red, and various light-dark combinations. They tend to take cover under rocks and consume small insects, particularly crickets. It can reach a length of up to 5 inches and is common in the southwest United States.

By the by, I am going to need a new camera, specifically for macro photographs. I love the macro on my current camera, but for creatures smaller than 10 mm it just does not do them justice.

Apidae

I went to Coyote Hills preserve with the family today, and caught a large bumble bee - however, since I already have a bumble bee specimen, and bumble bees are becoming threatened species, I decided to let him go. Before I released him, I took a few nice photographs and was able to identify him based on these photographs.

Hymenoptera; Aculeata; Apoidea; Apidae; Apinae; Bombini; Bombus vosnesenskii
Common Name: Yellow-faced Bumble Bee

This specimen is approximately 1.5 inches long, with two yellow stripes and a yellow face. Not much is known about bumble bees. They form colonies with usually 50 members, not as organized or specialized as honey bee or ant colonies. Because the founder female has to make or choose a burrow, it is not very large or she settles in a vacant burrow made by a ground animal. The area in which this specimen was caught was covered with ground squirrel burrows, so it is likely that one of those burrows contains the nest. In the first picture above, the bee is cleaning its face (cute, I think). Their populations are threatened by habitat destruction, diseases from commercially raised bumble bee populations, and invasive social insects such as the Pennsylvania Yellow Jacket, which is able to forage more nectar and compete for space.

I also snapped a photograph of this fly, which looks like a Tachinid fly, but could easily be a different family, as many similar looking flies are members of different families.