STYLOGASTER NEGLECTA

STYLOGASTER NEGLECTA

Stylogaster neglecta
THICK-HEADED FLY FAMILY (Conopidae)

This unusual looking fly is approximately 3/4 inch (20 mm) long including the ovipositor. The face is white, and the eyes are large and dark red. The top of the thorax is black. The abdomen is reddish-brown with white bands. The ovipositor is almost as long as the body and is mostly black with a pale tip. The wings are clear. The front and middle legs are tan colored, and the hind legs are red and black. The proboscis is longer than the body when unfolded.

 

This fly has been seen once in Fontenelle Forest nectaring on flowers in late July.

 

These thick-headed flies are internal parasites of roaches, crickets, grasshoppers and katydids. The female jabs the egg, which is shaped like a harpoon with a barbed tip, into the host. There are two species in North America.

 

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