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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Flies (Diptera) » Calyptratae » Oestroidea » Parasitic Flies (Tachinidae) » Exoristinae » Blondeliini » Istocheta » Winsome Fly (Istocheta aldrichi)
Photo#665315
Istocheta aldrichi
Copyright © 2012 metrioptera

Istocheta aldrichi
Kennebunk, York County, Maine, USA
June 28, 2012
Among the japanese beetles that I collected today, almost all of them had at least one parasite egg. I'm going to try to raise a few to see the adult fly.
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Contributed by metrioptera on 28 June, 2012 - 8:16pm
Last updated 13 October, 2014 - 8:46pm

Rearing
I tried last year, and the puparia dried out. I'd recommend keeping the beetles on some slightly moist soil so that the fly larvae can burrow in when they emerge.
… Charley Eiseman, 5 July, 2012 - 10:39am login or register to post comments

 
Thanks!
Will do. I've got 5 beetles, and 3 appear to be dead. The other 2 are still moving.
… metrioptera, 5 July, 2012 - 10:45am login or register to post comments

 
Puparium?
So maybe the larvae are pupating inside the dead ones. It may be a good sign.
… Beatriz Moisset, 5 July, 2012 - 12:33pm login or register to post comments

 
The larvae exited the beetles to pupate
when I tried to raise them. I don't remember how long after the beetles died that happened.
… Charley Eiseman, 5 July, 2012 - 12:37pm login or register to post comments

 
Fact sheet
Then, maybe the fact sheet on the info page is wrong.
… Beatriz Moisset, 5 July, 2012 - 12:42pm login or register to post comments

 
Fact sheet info
I collected some more last week, and the beetles have indeed buried themselves before dying. Next year when (hopefully) the flies emerge, I'll sift around in the soil and find out if they pupated inside or outside their hosts. It might be that they only leave the beetle if the beetle dies aboveground.
… Charley Eiseman, 16 July, 2012 - 4:51pm login or register to post comments

 
an update
When I got around to putting some soil in the container, I noticed that all the beetles were dead. One was completely hollow, and next to it, hidden in one of the rose petals that I had been using to feed the beetles, was a small red puparium. It appears to be alive, so I placed it on top of the soil with the other dead beetles.
… metrioptera, 5 July, 2012 - 3:00pm login or register to post comments

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