Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar

TaxonomyBrowseInfoImagesLinksBooksData
Photo#171014
spider parasitoid - Acrocera unguiculata - female

spider parasitoid - Acrocera unguiculata - Female
Ithaca, reared from Salticidae sp. found near Beebe Lake; 238 m; N42°27' W76°28.5, Tompkins County, New York, USA
September 16, 2006
A jumping spider my friend J. DeNicola was keeping grew larger, stopped moving, and finally this fly emerged. The date above is when this fly emerged.
Image taken using Dr. Andy Deans's EntoVision imaging system at the NC State Insect Museum.

fly that came from spider
Is it some type of a bot fly species. I had never heard of flies emerging from spiders. I knew jumpers could be killed by parasites, just never knew fly species were some of the parasites.

 
Hi Chris, No this is a Small-
Hi Chris, No this is a Small-headed Fly. The entire family exclusively use spiders as hosts. Many Mygalomorphs have Acroceridae associated with them (especially in the west). Also the sheet-web weavers and funnel weavers. The species can be tiny like this one or mimic Carpenter Bees.

Moved
Moved from Ogcodes.

Acrocera unguiculata
The antennal attachment point is high on the face, near the top of the eyes. This is a key character that separates Acrocera and Ogcodes (below the middle of the face). The reduced venation in hyaline wings; dark head and thorax; and abdomen with vague orangish-brown spots along the posterior margins of the dorsal segments of the abdomen; and the pale squamae, legs, and coxae all point to a female Acrocera unguiculata.

 
thanks
how do you see the antennal insertion? I don't see anything near the top of the eyes except for the ocelli.

 
Actually the antennae appear
Actually the antennae appear to have been lost. You can see the paired points of attachment just below the central forward ocellus.

 
ah, that's why i didn't see them
i extracted the fly from the webbing in the spider's container, unfortunately it must have suffered some damage.

 
The antennae in Acrocera are
The antennae in Acrocera are small and fragile, and they're placed where they're easily lost. I assumed they were lost when extracting it from the web. Great picture by the way!

Comment viewing options
Select your preferred way to display the comments and click 'Save settings' to activate your changes.