Tachinid Fly - Tachina Fera Tachina fera

Tachinid Flies are parasitoids - the females lay their eggs in caterpillars/sawfly (and some in beetles/bugs) and the hatched larva eats its host. There are some 260 species of Tachinid Fly in the UK alone. Shown here is Tachina fera species.

Most Tachinid Flies are the size and shape of a large, bristly Housefly with extra long, segmented antennae and with a bristly hair on the antenna also. Some are elongated. Most are drab colours but some are patterned, one is metallic green-bronze and the one here is yellow ochre with a bold, black stripe.

The adult flies eat nectar.