TACHINIDAE
(parasitoid flies)

Interactions where TACHINIDAE is the victim or passive partner (and generally loses out from the process)

The following relationships have been collated from the published literature (see 'Interaction References').

Filters:

Affected Part Summary Taxon Vernacular Classification References Darwin Classification of Active Taxon Active Taxon Active Vernacular Active Taxon Uncertain Active State Active Part Active Stage Relationship Relationship Uncertain Relationship Geography Darwin Classification of Passive Taxon Passive Taxon Passive Vernacular Passive Taxon Uncertain Passive State Passive Part Passive Stage Passive Taxon's significance to Active Taxon Indoors etc Season Summary
puparium is endoparasitoid host of larva Perilampus ruficornis a chalcid wasp Hymenoptera: Perilampidae Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea: Section (a), Ferrière, C. & Kerrich, G.J., 1958
/Animalia/Arthropoda/Insecta/Hymenoptera/Perilampidae/Perilampus ruficornis/Perilampus ruficornisa chalcid wasplarva Animal / parasitoid / endoparasitoid /Animalia/Arthropoda/Insecta/Diptera/Tachinidae/Tachinidaeparasitoid fliespuparium larva is endoparasitoid of puparium

Author & YearTitleSource
Ferrière, C. & Kerrich, G.J., 1958Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea: Section (a)Handbooks for the Identification of British Insects, Vol VIII, Part 2 (a), 40pp, The Royal Entomological Society of London

TACHINIDAE (parasitoid flies) may be included in 'feeds on' relations listed under the following higher taxa:

TACHINIDAE (parasitoid flies) may also be included in 'fed on by' relations listed under the following higher taxa:

Subtaxon Rank Featured
subtaxa
No of
interactions
No of
references
Subfamily 32 subtaxa 109 trophisms 7 references
Subfamily 91 subtaxa 577 trophisms 16 references
Subfamily 15 subtaxa 49 trophisms 5 references
Subfamily 73 subtaxa 226 trophisms 7 references
Taxonomic hierarchy:
FamilyTACHINIDAE (parasitoid flies)
SuperfamilyOESTROIDEA (blow-flies, blue-bottles, flesh flies and parasitoid flies)
InfraorderSchizophora - Calyptratae (an infraorder of flies)
OrderDIPTERA (two-winged flies)
Division Endopterygota (bees, beetles, flies, moths and other insects with wings developing internally)
InfraclassNeoptera (bees, beetles, flies, grasshoppers, moths and other advanced insects)
SubclassPTERYGOTA (bees, beetles, dragonflies, flies, grasshoppers, moths and other winged insects)
ClassINSECTA (true insects)
SubphylumHEXAPODA (insects and other 6-legged organisms)
PhylumARTHROPODA (arthropods)
SuperphylumECDYSOZOA (skin shedders)
CladeBilateria (bilaterally symmetrical animals)
SubkingdomEUMETAZOA (metazoans)
KingdomANIMALIA (animals)
DomainEukaryota (eukaryotes)
LifeBIOTA (living things)
NBNNBN (data.nbn.org.uk) has a distribution map for TACHINIDAE (parasitoid flies)

Identification Works

Handling & MagnificationAuthorYearTitleSource
Audcent, H. 1932 Bristol insect fauna: Diptera (part 5) Proceedings of the Bristol Naturalists’ Society 7: 358-370.
Belshaw, R. 1993 Tachinid Flies (Diptera: Tachinidae) Handbooks for the Identification of British Insects, Vol 10, Part 4a(i), 169pp, The Royal Entomological Society of London
Cerretti, P. 2006 Taxonomy and biogeography of West Palaearctic Tachinidae (Diptera) including an interactive key to the genera and faunistic data-base 425pp
Raper, C. Tachinidae Recording Scheme tachinidae.org.uk/
Raper, C. Belshaw (1993) Keys & Species Accounts (revised by Chris Raper)
Rayner, R. & Raper, C. 2001 The Tachinids (Diptera: Tachinidae) of Central Europe: Identification Keys for the Species and Data on Distribution and Ecology.
Tschorsnig, H.-P. & Herting, B. 1994 Die Raupenfliegen (Diptera: Tachinidae) Mitteleuropas: Bestimmungstabellen und Angaben zur Verbreitung und Ökologie der einzelnen Arten 506, 170pp, State Museum of Natural Science, Stuttgart
Tschorsnig, H.-P. & Richter, V.A. 3.54 Family Tachinidae Pape, T., 1998. Manual of Palaearctic Diptera Vol 3 - Rhinophoridae, 11pp, Palaearctic Diptera Vol 3: Higher Brachycera
van Emden, F.I., 1954 *** Diptera: Cyclorrhapha Calyptrata (I) Sect (a) Tachinidae and Calliphoridae ***(Superseded) Handbooks for the Identification of British Insects , Vol X. Part 4(a), 133pp, The Royal Entomological Society of London
Wainwright, C.J. 1940 *** The British Tachinidae (Diptera) Second Supplement ***(Superseded) Trans. ent. Soc. Lond. 90: 411-448.
Wainwright, C.J. 1932 *** The British Tachinidae (Diptera) First Supplement ***(Superseded) Trans. ent. Soc. Lond. 80: 405-424.
Wainwright, C.J. 1928 *** The British Tachinidae ***(Superseded) Trans. ent. Soc. Lond. 76: 139-254.

TACHINIDAE (parasitoid flies) may also be included in identification literature listed under the following higher taxa:

General Works

AuthorYearTitleSource
Gross, P. 1993 Insect behavioral and morphological defenses against parasitoids Annu. Rev. Entomol. Vol 38: 251-273.
Hamm, A.H. 1942 Records of Tachinidae (Dipt.) chiefly from the Oxford district Ent. Mon. Mag. 78: 191-192.
Hawkins, B.A. & Sheehan, W. 1994 Parasitoid Community Ecology Oxford University Press
Herting, B. 1960 Biologie der westpaläarktischen Raupenfliegen (Dipt., Tachinidae) Monographien zur Angewandten Entomologie 16: 1-188.
Shaw, M.R., Stefanescu, C. & van Nouhuys, S. Parasitoids of European butterflies Shaw, M.R., Stefanescu, C. & van Nouhuys, S. Parasitoids of European butterflies, 27pp, Ecology of Butterflies in Europe
Uffen, R.W.J. 1961 Miscellaneous notes on Diptera. Part 1: Tachinidae and parasitic Calliphoridae Ent. Gazette 2: 46-49.
Varkonyi, G. & Roslin, T. 2013 Freezing cold yet diverse: dissecting a high-Arctic parasitoid community associated with Lepidoptera hosts Canadian Entomology Vol 145: 193-218.
Wainwright, C.J. 1905 Notes on Tachinidae. Number 1 Ent. Mon. Mag. 41: 199-207.

Host Lists

Tschorsnig, H.-P. 2017 Preliminary host catalogue of Palaearctic Tachinidae (Diptera)

Hosts

Audcent, H. 1942 A preliminary list of the hosts of some British Tachinidae (Dipt.) Transactions of the Society for British Entomology 8: 1-42.
Ford, T.H. & Shaw, M.R. 1991 Host records of some West Palaearctic Tachinidae (Diptera) Entomologist’s Record and journal of variation 103: 23-38.
Ford, T.H. 1976 Some records of bred Tachinidae - 2 Entomologist’s Record and journal of variation 88: 68-71.
Ford, T.H. 1973 Some records of bred Tachinidae Entomologist’s Record and journal of variation 85: 288-299.
Hammond, H.E. & Smith, K.G.V. 1957 On some parasitic Diptera and Hymenoptera bred from lepidopterous hosts. Part 3: records of Tachinidae (Dipt.), Braconidae, Ichneumonidae, Encyrtidae, Pteromalidae, Eulophidae and Scelionidae (Hym.) Ent. Gazette 8: 181-189.
Hammond, H.E. & Smith, K.G.V. 1955 On some parasitic Diptera and Hymenoptera bred from lepidopterous hosts. Part 2: misc. records of Phoridae, Larvaevoridae (Dipt.), Braconidae, Ichneumonidae and Eulophidae (Hym.) Ent. Gazette 6: 168-174.
Hey, G.L. 1935 A list of parasites bred from Tortrix and Tineid hosts Ent. Mon. Mag. 71: 186-187.
Parmenter, L. 1953 Some records of bred Tachinidae Entomologist’s Record and journal of variation 65: 29-31.
van Emden, F.I. 1950 Dipterous parasites of Coleoptera Ent. Mon. Mag. 88: 182-206.

Newsletters

Tachinid Recording Scheme Tachinid Recording Scheme Newsletter Published for/by:Tachinid Recording Scheme, Dipterists Forum

Literature listed under the following higher taxa may also be relevant to TACHINIDAE (parasitoid flies):

BioImagesBioImages (www.bioimages.org.uk) has 793 images of TACHINIDAE (parasitoid flies)

A large family of bristly flies with often striking colouration. The tachinid life-cycle was famously the inspiration for Ridley Scott’s "Alien" film!

The larvae are internal parasitoids of other invertebrates, mostly insects, and especially Lepidoptera. Most species are restricted to a small number of host species which are either related or share the same ecology and gross morphology.

The oviposition strategies are very varied from those which lay eggs and wait for the host larvae to find them (like Ridley Scott’s Alien), to other species which retain the egg until it is about to hatch before inserting it into the body of the victim.

The larva develops inside the growing host larva, feeding on non-essential organs. Finally the parasitoid larva becomes full grown and breaks out of the host which then usually dies. The larva pupariates and, after a suitable interval, the adult emerges.

The adults visit flowers and include several large distinctive species which are very common in summer.

Larvaevoridae

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