We encourage people to email us pictures of animals, insects, plants, trees and birds that they find around Tipperary. We will then post these to the blog and ask people to add comments if they can help identify them. Email biodiversity@cabraghwetlands.ie
Saturday, December 18, 2010
The BIGGEST fly I ever saw !
Last July while conducting my butterfly transect I encountered the biggest fly I ever met,at first I thought it was just an unusually large Noon day fly but it quickly became obvious that it was something else .
A visit to the reference books turned up Tachina grossa a tacnid fly,these prey on large hairy catterpillars on which they lay eggs, that hatch and burrow into the caterpillar eating it alive, leaving the vital organs till last so as not to kill it prematurely.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Fantastic pics - happy new year! Keep up the good work!
ReplyDelete