Thursday
Jun302011
Tachinid Fly

My first Dexiosoma caninum (Diptera: Tachinidae) of the year. Although I saw these often in previous years, I hadn't noticed before that they don't appear until mid-summer. I suppose that, being parasites, they don't mature until their hosts become available.
Photos taken on the north bank of the large lake, Whiteknights Park, Reading University grounds, Reading, UK, on 2011-06-24.
Update on Mon 2011-10-17 by
Tristram Brelstaff

According to here, the host for this species is possibly the larvae of the cockchafer beetle Melolontha melolontha, but is not known for certain.
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