Appearance
Like all ''Trigonospila'' species, ''T. brevifacies'' can be recognised by its distinctive markings. They are primarily black with pearly whitish to golden transverse bars on the thorax and abdomen.''T. brevifacies'' is frequently confused with ''T. cingulata'' in locations where both species co-occur. ''T. cingulata'' appears to much more common than ''T. brevifacies'', particularly in Queensland, New South Wales, and the Australian Capital Territory. It is believed T. cingulata is a parasitoid of chrysomelid beetle larvae in the genus Paropsis, which are abundant herbivores in many Australian environments. Only ''T. brevifacies'' is known to be present in New Zealand.
''T. brevifacies'' can be easily distinguished from ''T. cingulata'' by colouration of the abdomen. The black and white abdominal markings of ''T. cingulata'' are continuous, crisp stripes from the dorsal to ventral sides of the abdomen, whereas the black markings of ''T. brevifacies'' typically are more or less triangular spots on the anterior margin of each the third, fourth, and fifth abdominal tergites which may or may not be quite diffused. The sides of the abdomen in both sexes of ''T. brevifacies'' are yellow.
Distribution
''T. brevifacies'' is native to the eastern states of Australia and has been collected from Tasmania, New South Wales, Victoria, and southern Queensland. ''T. brevifacies'' is also present in New Zealand as it was introduced to control a number of agricultural pests.References:
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