What is this Bug?

[FeralSheryl]

I was out photographing Hawthorn Blossom with my pocket camera this morning and - OK, don't laugh - I saw a bug I'd never seen before.
Looks like a Fly with a Cat's eye for an abdomen to me

Now, I get the feeling it must be really common and I've just been really unobservant but if anyone can tell me what it is, I'd be grateful.

 

[Moonraker]

Nice photo FS

I reckon it may be an Eriothrix rufomaculata (possibly Eriothrix prolixa), a species of 'parasitic fly' (larvae thought to parasitise moth caterpillars but details not known)

source: UK Nature

One of the commonest tachinids in high-summer around grasslands or sunny rough ground

Detailed info here:

Tachinid Recording Scheme - Eriothrix rufomaculata

Distribution map of UK here:

UK Distribution Map - Eriothrix rufomaculata

 

[FeralSheryl]

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction, I really didn't have a clue where to start. The chap I photographed had a very round abdomen but otherwise looked a lot like the fly you suggested. I Googled Eriothrix prolixa checking out images of flys on the same sites and found it quite quickly after that.

You were very close, it turns out it's Tachina fera and is, as you pointed out, a Parasitic Fly. One that usually attacks the larvae of Butterflies & Moths.
Nasty little bug(ger) then, which is a shame because I though it was quite attractive in it's own right.

Cheers Simon, wouldn't have found it without your help. Oh and thanks for the compliment on the photo too

Went back over there with a better camera a bit later, hoping for a good marco, but I couldn't find them again. Here's a nice close up on another website if anyone is curious: Tachina fera

 

[Moonraker]

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction, I really didn't have a clue where to start. The chap I photographed had a very round abdomen but otherwise looked a lot like the fly you suggested. I Googled Eriothrix prolixa checking out images of flys on the same sites and found it quite quickly after that.

You were very close, it turns out it's Tachina fera and is, as you pointed out, a Parasitic Fly. One that usually attacks the larvae of Butterflies & Moths.

Nasty little bug(ger) then, which is a shame because I though it was quite attractive in it's own right.

Nice close up on another website if anyone is curious: Tachina fera

Thanks Simon, wouldn't have found it without your help

Ahh! yes My pleasure FS. Nice to have an excuse to hunt around and try to identify plants, insects etc. Good way of improving my knowledge of them so thanks for posting

I was not certain due to the fatter abdomen and also the wing shape which is different but as I could not find a photo of the other species I guessed it was that. But well found!

Now for a few more I am sure there are some Entomologists on the forum....

 

[Snufkin]

One that usually attacks the larvae of Butterflies & Moths.
Nasty little bug(ger) then, which is a shame because I though it was quite attractive in it's own right.

Wonderful little creatures that are welcome in my garden any day, the only good Cabbage White is a dead Cabbage White

 

[FeralSheryl]

Snufkin, really!
My Garden Birds need dem Catterpillers, especially in the breeding season.
Lepidoptera are amazing (I'm a bit of a Moth Fan)
But then I have to say that little fly was handsome too.
Kinda juicy looking, made me curiosly hungry

 

[Justin Time]

but Sheryl, these bugs might be a good food source for Hooded Crows?

 

[Mutley]

Urgh, hate bugs.

You didn't try eating it did you?

Would make some good bait. Colourful and lots of dangle bits, great if you fly fish.

 

[FeralSheryl]

Ah, if they're good for my beloved Corvids, then I'm happy to see them Actually, there are a couple of Magpies nesting very close by, come to think of it. I think maybe if you offered them a nice fresh green grape they might still go for that instead. Very partial to grapes, Magpies

Eat them myself? Noo, Veggie me. They certainly did look juicy though

 

[Tantalus]

but Sheryl, these bugs might be a good food source for Hooded Crows?

corvids will indeed eat most things, from bugs and grain to chips left on streetcorners after a friday night

and it is not only carrion crows that eat carrion

had a few problems with lambs being attacked last year but seems ok again now

their adaptability is part of their success

Tant

 

[FeralSheryl]

Yeah, you're right they'll eat or at least try, almost anything.

My intrest in Corvids developed when I first worked at a Wildlife Rescue. Must be some 10 years ago now. I was amazed by their intelligence, the way they look you directly in the eye and seem to be really your searching your intentions. You know you can't hide anything from them. There are always one or two every year who, for one reason or another, can't be released into the wild again and I had the unforgettable opportunity of building a really close realtionship with some of them. A real Joy.

Glad the situation with the Lambs seems to be resolved.

 

[Tantalus]

lol this is getting way off topic, but you got your bug identified so i guess its ok

they are some of the smartest birds IMHO

have even seen them working as a team raiding dustbins

one will climb in and the other will stand on the top edge of the bin

then the one on the inside passes stuff up to his buddy who dumps it on the ground

then both of them clamber down and share whatever they found

the lambs too , no i am not going into details you dont want to hear

but they would stand innocently some distance away from the lambs and creep closer whenever they thought the lamb wasnt looking, and never in a straight line towards the lamb

some remarkable intelligence at work there

they are long lived birds and seem to have the ability to teach each other useful tricks, i have heard too that if kept as pets from a small age they can learn to talk - tho the only one i ever saw that could talk was a magpie someone rescued in germany

and they can tell the difference between someone walking through a field with a stick and someone with a shotgun

fascinating creatures

Tant

 

[FeralSheryl]

We have wandered off some distance from my fly haven't we

You're right though, they can learn to talk. One Magpie at the rescue - predictably called Maggie - used to talk quite a lot. She (female for the sake of argument) used to shout "Hello" and "What are you doing"? when she saw anyone approaching and then mimic a really rough smokers cough. Presumably picked up from the person who raised her as a chick.

If raised by people they do form really close bonds with us. I think she must have felt rather betrayed when she was brought to the rescue because she exhibited a definite dislike of humans after that, poor soul.

 

[Keith_Beef]

great if you fly fish.

I tried to do that once. Didn't work too well.

Tendency to tumble. Landing was atrocious, too.


Keith.