This species is approximately 3/8 inch (10 mm) in length. The eyes are large and brown with yellow between. The thorax is brown and yellow striped. The abdomen is slender and plain orange in the male and with a black tip in the female. The wings are black with a tannish line from the top of the leading edge to about 3/4 of the way towards the tip. The legs are black and usually have a fringe on the hind legs that resembles a bee’s pollen basket.
These flies may be fairly common through summer. Look for them sitting on vegetation and nectaring on flowers.
There are 6 species in the genus Trichopoda. The female lays an egg on the top of the host where it cannot be wiped off by self-grooming. The larvae are endoparasites of leaf-footed bugs, squash bugs and stink bugs. Mature larvae leave the host to pupate in the soil.
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