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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Flies (Diptera) » "Acalyptratae" » Carnoidea » Frit Flies (Chloropidae) » Grass Flies (Chloropinae) » Thaumatomyia
Photo#1099796
Thaumatomyia sp.? - Thaumatomyia
Copyright © 2015 Robert P. Sikora

Thaumatomyia sp.? - Thaumatomyia
garden, Alameda, Alameda County, California, USA
July 10, 2015
Size: ~1/8"
Is there any downside to this guy? Here is why I ask:

In an organic garden gradually going to native I have been constantly needing to spray yellow aphids off of the Asclepias with a hose. It keeps them under control, but the task seems unending. About a week ago, suddenly, there are NO aphids on the Asclepias. They are clean as the driven snow. Now I am finding these new yellow and black guys that I have never seen before(Thaumatomyia?)in the yard. And here is the thing. If the ID is correct, the larvae seem to feed on aphids! Coincidence? Oh, and here is another thing. Had I been spraying for aphids, I would have been killing these guys off.
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Contributed by Robert P. Sikora on 11 July, 2015 - 9:25am
Last updated 3 December, 2016 - 4:47pm

Moved
Moved from Grass Flies.
… John F. Carr, 3 December, 2016 - 4:47pm login or register to post comments

Moved
Moved from ID Request.
… v belov, 21 July, 2015 - 10:15pm login or register to post comments

Yes - Thaumatomyia…
The larvae of these flies attack aphids that infest the roots of plants, not the flowers or foliage. It's possible your chronic hosing efforts may have discouraged them from returning. As you suggest, insecticides can have the effect of killing off beneficial as well as harmful insects.

See reference here.
… Ross Hill, 11 July, 2015 - 11:15am login or register to post comments

 
Thanks Ross
for the id and the reference. Some of these guys do indeed have fat bellies, but their numbers are definitely not of outbreak proportions.
… Robert P. Sikora, 11 July, 2015 - 9:05pm login or register to post comments

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