Phasia aurigera

The gold shield fly ( Phasia aurigera ) is a fly from the family Tachinidae ( Tachinidae ). It is insect of the year 2014.

Features

The fly reaches a body length of 8 to 13 mm and is similar to how almost all Tachinidae, in the general body shape of a housefly ( with which they are quite closely related ). The head bears very large, red-colored compound eyes that nearly collide in the female, are separated in the male by about the width of the Ocellendreiecks. The body is pollinated predominantly black in color and extended gray or yellowish. The male falls by its coloring and drawing on: with him the Mesoscutum (the middle section of the top of the fuselage ) is pollinated densely golden yellow, in it are two black vertical lines ( Vittae ) incorporated, but do not reach the posterior margin, they put in two dark bristle fields continued. The underlying triangular scutellum is black, sometimes with a yellow tip. The hull sides are dusted gray. The wings are extended tinted yellowish to light brown. The legs are black or brownish, the rear rails yellow. The abdomen is dark with a broad yellowish stain on the outside of the fused first two tergites and the front half of the third Tergits, as well as the outside of the fifth tergites is tinted striking yellow. The tergites are shiny and not pollinated by the third to. The females lack the striking golden yellow stain on top of the thorax, as well as the wings are clear or very pale yellow. The male is on the basis of color and pattern usually distinguished from the related species: the case of the much more frequent Phasia hemiptera the yellow spot is missing, also the body is laterally hairy remarkably long reddish yellow. Phasia aurulans also has a yellow spot, but which is limited to the rear end of Postscutums (see ). However, a reliable determination, especially the female is only under the microscope, especially after features of the bristles, possible. In the female, as with all related species ( Phasiinae ), the rear end of the abdomen to a pointed ovipositor ( ovipositor ) transformed.

Ecology

The species prefers heat favored habitats such as dry slopes and warm forest edges. It pits two generations a year, the first from late May to late June, the second, usually more numerous, from mid-August to mid-October. The adults are flower visitors .. The life of the imago is about 15 days. The larvae parasitized in species of bugs. Suitable host species are known: Green stink bug ( Palomena prasina ), Grey Garden Bug ( Rhaphigaster nebulosa ), Lederwanze ( Coreus marginatus ), juniper edge Bug ( Gonocerus juniperi ) Gonocerus acuteangulatus. Hibernation takes place as the first or second instar larvae in the host.

Dissemination

Phasia aurigera is a heat- loving, kind Palaearctic, she lives in South and Central Europe, north to the south of France, Germany and Poland. And it comes in the Russian Far East and Northeast China before ( an isolated record from southern Sichuan ). In Germany are evidence of Bavaria, Baden- Württemberg, Rhineland -Palatinate and Hesse, it applies here locally not rare. In Poland it is considered endangered

As with many warmth-loving species, including evidence is to the north succeeded in recent times. So it seems to be quite widespread in the Netherlands since around 2005 and is also used in Denmark but is still lacking in the UK.

Taxonomy

The genus includes 75 species Phasia, eight of which occur in Central Europe worldwide. The species was first described by Egger 1860 as Alophora aurigera, on the material, which was collected by Ignaz Rudolph Schiner. Type locality is the vicinity of Vienna