MsQuizzical

By MsQuizzical

Snout And Its Nemesis

I saw a little moth flutter down onto a grass stem and snapped it, thinking snout moth. Immediately afterwards I spotted a fly settle, snapped it and thought Tachinid.

I researched the fly first. It is indeed a Tachinid but not one I've seen before. It has the characteristic spiky abdomen but is much skinnier than the ones I usually see. I think it's a Mintho rufiventris, the compressed parasite fly. The adults feed on pollen and nectar and guess what? Their larvae are parasites of snout moth caterpillars. What a coincidence.    

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