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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Flies (Diptera) » "Orthorrhapha" (Brachycera excluding Aschiza and Schizophora) » Stratiomyomorpha » Soldier flies (Stratiomyidae) » Ptecticus » Ptecticus trivittatus
Photo#57917
Unknown fly - Ptecticus trivittatus
Copyright © 2006 Steve Scott

Unknown fly - Ptecticus trivittatus
Fairfield, Wayne County, Illinois, USA
June 16, 2006
Size: 1 - 2 cm
These flies appear at my compost bins when I mix in new batch of grass and leaves. There is a strong smell like acetone at that time which disappears when they do (chicken or the egg quanundrum). They are quite aggressive toward each other; constantly patrolling and tackling. I haven't observed any mating behavior or nectaring on the kitchen waste.

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Unknown fly - Ptecticus trivittatus Unknown fly - Ptecticus trivittatus Unknown fly - Ptecticus trivittatus Unknown fly - Ptecticus trivittatus
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Contributed by Steve Scott on 16 June, 2006 - 12:29pm

Yes this is Ptecticus trivitt
Yes this is Ptecticus trivittatus. They are attracted but (freshly) rotting organic matter and also by alcohol! The males are very territorial. It is a big genus in all over the worlds tropics, but there are only 3 or so species in the US.
… Martin Hauser, 16 June, 2006 - 1:16pm login or register to post comments

 
Thanks
Martin. My instinct was correct then - soldier fly. When I browsed I didn't go deep enough.

Hmmm. "Freshly rotting organic matter" - sounds like an oxymoron to me. :)
… Steve Scott, 16 June, 2006 - 2:16pm login or register to post comments

 
Yeah, a little bit of an oxym
Yeah, a little bit of an oxymoron... but these flies seem to be picky... so if it is very old leave litter kind of stuff, they do not go, but if the matter is still green and but cut off or injured, they love it. So if you have cut bamboo or cut banana plants in the tropics, thesse flies come in swarms... They are the first wave of consumers...
… Martin Hauser, 16 June, 2006 - 3:11pm login or register to post comments

Ptecticus
A soldier fly. They do like leaf litter. Perhaps compost is litter to the third power.
… Herschel Raney, 16 June, 2006 - 1:06pm login or register to post comments

 
:)
Litter(3)! I like it.
… Steve Scott, 16 June, 2006 - 2:13pm login or register to post comments

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