Look in grasslands, hedge rows, and crops, which they are likely to inhabit
This photo of a swift feather-legged fly was taken in my backyard. The fly was staying around as I was cutting zucchini off the vine. There were a few in the garden, but this one was willing to sit patiently for a photo. I was enraptured by the colorful abdomen and the exceptionally large eyes that it has.
The swift feather-legged fly has the scientific name Trichopoda pennipes. It belongs to the dipteran family Tachinidae. The order Diptera includes all flies. The word “diptera” comes from the Greek words meaning “two” and “wing”. Swift feather-legged flies are native to the United States, Mexico, Southern America, and the Hawaiian Islands. They have been introduced to France, Italy, and Europe. If you’re looking for them in the wilderness, you would be best served to look in grasslands, hedge rows, and crops, which they are likely to inhabit.
At their largest, this fly only grows to be about 10.5 millimeters long. That’s about one half of an inch. This makes them a medium-sized fly. This would be about the same size as a large housefly. Their eyes are large and brown. Between their eyes the head is yellow. They have a black or brown thorax with a few yellow stripes. The abdomen of the swift feather-legged fly varies. It can be bright orange, as seen here, or black. Males tend to exhibit a dark orange tip of the abdomen, while females have a dark tip of the abdomen. Their wings are transparent. Their legs are black with yellow feet. The hind legs have their eponymous feather-like fringe of flattened hairs.
The reason why these flies were in my garden is likely because they were searching for suitable host bugs to lay their eggs on. Squash bugs are a common host, and my garden was littered with them that year. They will lay several small, oval, and pale-colored eggs on a large nymph or an adult squash bug. When the eggs hatch, the larvae will burrow into the host. It will feed on the bug’s tissues from the inside. It will eventually pupate once it emerges, killing the host. After two weeks the adult fly emerges.
Swift feather-legged flies' legs are black with yellow feet
Did you know?
- When they first appear in the spring, they suck on nectar from flowers such as Queen Anne’s lace and meadowsweet.
- There are regional biotypes of the swift feather-legged fly that will prey on different hosts.
- Humans have tried to introduce this insect at squash farms to control the population of squash bugs.
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