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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Flies (Diptera) » "Acalyptratae" » Carnoidea » Frit Flies (Chloropidae) » Oscinellinae » Parasitic Chloropid Fly (Pseudogaurax) » Pseudogaurax signatus
Photo#41343
Parasitoids - Pseudogaurax signatus - male - female
Copyright © 2006 Jeff Hollenbeck

Parasitoids - Pseudogaurax signatus - Male Female
Weirsdale, Ocala, Lake Wales, Marion and Polk County, Florida, USA
Size: 2 mm
Preserved specimens. Colors are normal.
Placed this image on what I believe is the proper family, but left the others in ID request because I am unsure of genus and species.

The maggots are often found eating the eggs of Phidippus clarus in areas where the flies and clarus are abundant.
At the two sites, P. regius and audax egg sacs were not parasitized, only the clarus. The audax and regius sacs were more concealed, though.

Images of this individual: tag all
Parasitoids - Pseudogaurax signatus - male - female Parasitoids - Pseudogaurax signatus - male - female Fly pupae in egg sac - Pseudogaurax signatus Fly pupae in egg sac - Pseudogaurax signatus
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Contributed by Jeff Hollenbeck on 21 January, 2006 - 8:50am
Last updated 22 May, 2012 - 3:09pm

Moved
Moved from Parasitic Chloropid Fly.
… Brad Barnd, 22 May, 2012 - 3:09pm login or register to post comments

Pseudogaurax signatus
Another useful rearing record of P. signatus from Phidippus.
… Terry Wheeler, 22 May, 2012 - 10:45am login or register to post comments

Family Chloropidae, genus Pseudogaurax!
Hello Jeff,
These are not thick-headed flies, but they belong to the family Chloropidae, so the Frit flies! One of the characteristics of this family is the big ocellair plate on top of the head, which is very good visible on the fly in the middle of the picture.
This is very interesting, because most species in this family are phytophagous. There are some that feed on other stuff, and even some that are predacious and feed on eggs in a wide variety of egg sacs (spiders, Lymantrid moths and mantids), just as this one.
So this one belongs to the genus Pseudogaurax, of which there are 3 species in Southern USA!
Greetings,
Gerard Pennards
… Gerard Pennards, 22 January, 2006 - 5:57am login or register to post comments

 
Great
I missed this when it was posted—what a great bit of natural history. I'll have to start watching spider egg sacs now!
… Stephen_WV, 1 October, 2006 - 9:58am login or register to post comments

 
Thank you
for the ID and info, Gerard.
… Jeff Hollenbeck, 22 January, 2006 - 1:39pm login or register to post comments

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