Knowra Tachinidae Tachinidae Tachinidae is a large family of true flies whose larvae develop as parasitoids in other arthropods, especially insects. Many species help regulate populations of caterpillars and other insect hosts.
Parasitoid : An organism whose immature stage develops in or on one host and ultimately kills it. Tachinid larvae follow this life history, unlike parasites that usually leave hosts alive.
Diptera : The insect order comprising flies, distinguished by one functional pair of wings. Tachinidae belongs to this order of true flies.
Biological pest control : The use of living organisms to suppress pest populations. Tachinids are used or conserved as natural enemies of crop and forest pests.
Ichneumonidae : A large family of parasitoid wasps whose larvae develop in or on other arthropods. Ichneumonids share parasitoid hosts with tachinids but are wasps, not flies.
Oviposition : The process by which a female animal deposits eggs. Female tachinids place eggs on, near, or inside hosts, depending on the species.
Calyptratae : A major group of flies that includes house flies, blow flies, and tachinid flies. Tachinidae is classified within this calyptrate lineage.
Cotesia congregata : A braconid wasp that parasitizes caterpillars, including the tobacco hornworm. It provides a well-studied wasp comparison to tachinid fly parasitoids of caterpillars.
Braconidae : A large family of parasitoid wasps containing many species that attack insect larvae. Braconids are another diverse parasitoid lineage often compared with tachinid flies.
Host-parasite interaction : A biological relationship in which one organism lives at the expense of another. Host defenses and tachinid adaptations shape whether larvae establish and develop.
Insect : An arthropod with a three-part body, six legs, and usually one or two pairs of wings. Most tachinid hosts are insects, though other arthropods are also attacked.
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