Eriothrix rufomaculata

Eriothrix rufomaculatus is a species of fly in the family Tachinidae.

Distribution

Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, China, British Isles, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Macedonia, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, Austria, Belgium, Channel Islands, France, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Kazakhstan, North Korea, Iran, Israel, Palestine, Russia, Azerbaijan.

Habitat

These rather common flies mainly inhabit hedge rows, grasslands or sunny rough ground, meadows, ruderal areas and fields.

Description

Eriothrix rufomaculatus can reach a length of and a wingspan of 13–15 mm. This bristly species shows a greyish thorax with four narrow black stripes and a prominent but quite variable orange patches on the sides of its cylindrical abdomen, separated by a dorsal black line. Its face is silvery, with a protruding mouth edge. The legs are black. Wings are slightly shaded, yellowish at the base. Vein-m is petiolate and costal spine is longer than vein r-m.

Biology

Eriothrix rufomaculatus is a univoltine species. Adults can be found from July to October. They are flower feeders, visiting in particular members of the Umbelliferae and Asteraceae. The species is parasitic, the larvae developing inside the subterranean larvae of moths, especially of crambid moths, tiger moths, lappet moths and ermine moths ).