''Dexia rustica'' is a species of

fly Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced m ...

in the family

Tachinidae The Tachinidae are a large and variable family of true flies within the insect order Diptera, with more than 8,200 known species and many more to be discovered. Over 1,300 species have been described in North America alone. Insects in this fami ...

Distribution and habitat

This species can be found in most of Europe. These tachinids usually inhabit hedge rows and flowery environments.

Description

''Dexia rustica'' can reach a body length of and a

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan ...

of 16–24 mm.J.K. Lindse
Commanster
/ref> These small tachinids have generally a black thorax, with grayish yellow

pruinosity Pruinescence , or pruinosity, is a "frosted" or dusty-looking coating on top of a surface. It may also be called a pruina (plural: ''pruinae''), from the Latin word for hoarfrost. The adjectival form is pruinose . Entomology In insects, a "blo ...

. Four longitudinal black vittae appear on dorsum,Chun-Tian Zhang, Xiao-Lin Che
A review of the genus Dexia Meigen in the Palearctic and Oriental Regions Diptera Tachinidae
in Zootaxa · December 2010 Abdomen appears greyish-brown or reddish, with a darker longitudinal dorsal marking, more or less evident. It is cylindric-conic, with two setae among each segment. Probocis is short and membranous. Females usually are darker than males.Bob Gibbon
Field Guide to Insects of Britain and Northern Europe
/ref> Wings are

hyaline A hyaline substance is one with a glassy appearance. The word is derived from el, ὑάλινος, translit=hyálinos, lit=transparent, and el, ὕαλος, translit=hýalos, lit=crystal, glass, label=none. Histopathology Hyaline cartilage is ...

, with a reddish yellow tegula and a dark brown basicosta. Legs are reddish yellow.

Biology

Adults can be found from June to August, feeding on nectar and pollen, especially of ''

Heracleum sphondylium ''Heracleum sphondylium'', commonly known as hogweed, common hogweed or cow parsnip, is a herbaceous perennial or biennial plant, in the umbelliferous family Apiaceae that includes fennel, cow parsley, ground elder and giant hogweed. It is nati ...

''. Larvae develop in the soil feeding on beetle larvae (

endoparasitism Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has c ...

), mainly of ''

Melolontha melolontha The cockchafer, colloquially called Maybug, Maybeetle, or doodlebug, is the name given to any of the European beetles of the genus ''Melolontha'', in the family Scarabaeidae. Once abundant throughout Europe and a major pest in the periodical ye ...

'', ''

Amphimallon solstitialis ''Amphimallon solstitiale'', also known as the summer chafer or European june beetle, is a beetle similar to the cockchafer but much smaller, approximately in length. They are declining in numbers now, but where found they are often seen in ...

'', ''

Rhizotrogus marginipes ''Rhizotrogus marginipes'' is a species of beetle in the Melolonthinae subfamily that can be found in France, Germany, Italy, Kosovo, Montenegro, Portugal, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland and Voivodina Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), off ...

'' and ''

Phyllopertha horticola ''Phyllopertha horticola'', the garden chafer or garden foliage beetle, is a beetle from the family Scarabaeidae. ''Phyllopertha horticola'' was described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. Variety *''Phy ...

'' (

Scarabaeidae The family Scarabaeidae, as currently defined, consists of over 30,000 species of beetles worldwide; they are often called scarabs or scarab beetles. The classification of this family has undergone significant change in recent years. Several sub ...

).Encyclopedia of life
/ref>

References

Diptera of Europe Dexiinae Insects described in 1775 Taxa named by Johan Christian Fabricius {{Dexiinae-stub