Tachinid fly

Dejeania bombylans

Tachinidae is a large and rather variable family of true flies within the insect order Diptera, with more than 8,200 known species and many more to be discovered. There are over 1300 species in North America. Insects in this family are commonly called tachina flies or simply tachinids. As far as is known, they all are Protelean parasitoids, or occasionally parasites, of Arthropoda.
The family is cosmopolitan. Species occur in many habitats in many regions, including Neotropical, Nearctic,[1] Afrotropical,[2] Palaearctic, Oriental, Australasian and Oceanic.
Tachinid fly, front view As nasty as it looks, these flies lay their eggs in the larvae of other insects which subsequently eat their way out, leaving the vital organs for the very last burst of freedom. Yeuch! Dejeania bombylans,Fall,Geotagged,South Africa,Tachinid fly,flies,insects,south africa

Appearance

Medium sized flies covered in strong bristles. Dejeania have an inflated abdomen armed with very prominent spines and bristles and unpatterned wings. Robust with a wingspan of 16-24mm with a yellow and brown abdomen.
Tachynid fly, bum shot Dejeania bombylans,Fall,Geotagged,South Africa,Tachinid fly,flies,insects,parasitic insects,soouth africa

Naming

Fabricius, 1798

Distribution

The north east and eastern and southern coastal regions of South Africa.

Habitat

Broad leaved herbs and grasses in the shade of bushveld trees.

Reproduction

All species internal parasites of insects or occasionally centipedes. Larvae feed first on non-essential organs of the host and attack vital organs only when they are about to pupate. Butterflies and moths are the most common hosts but any larvae from a range of groups including bugs, grasshoppers, beetles and (rarely) wasps and bees is attacked. Although there is a fair degree of host specificity at the taxonomic level of order, there is little or none at the species level. females may lay eggs directly into the host or on a plant that the host may eat inadvertently. Alternatively, eggs may hatch into larvae that find their way into the host.
Dejeania bombylans is know to parasatize only the African Boll Worm ( Helicoverpa armigera)

Food

Nectar

Uses

Tachinids are agriculturally important as they suppress populations of injurious moth caterpillars.

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.

Field Guide to Insects of South Africa - Mike Picker, Charles Griffiths and Alan Weaving
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tachinidae
Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionArthropoda
ClassInsecta
OrderDiptera
FamilyTachinidae
GenusDejeania
SpeciesDejeania bombylans
Photographed in
South Africa