''Verrallia aucta'' is a species of fly in the family

Pipunculidae Pipunculidae is a family of flies (Diptera) commonly termed big-headed flies, a reference to the large ( holoptic) eyes, which cover nearly the entire head. The family is found worldwide and more than 1300 species have been described. The larva ...

. It is found in the

Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. Th ...

.Coe, R.L. (1966) Pipunculidae.''Handbook for the Identification of British Insects'', Vol. X (Part 2c): 1-83; Royal Entomological Society London
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Hosts

Parasitoid In evolutionary ecology, a parasitoid is an organism that lives in close association with its host (biology), host at the host's expense, eventually resulting in the death of the host. Parasitoidism is one of six major evolutionarily stable str ...

on '' Philaenus spumarius''. Because ''P. s.'' is the most common vector (in Europe) of the invasive agricultural disease '' Xylella fastidiosa'', ''V. aucta'' is of great interest as a

biological control Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, whether pest animals such as insects and mites, weeds, or pathogens affecting animals or plants by using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or o ...

Insecticide Insecticides are pesticides used to kill insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against insect eggs and larvae, respectively. The major use of insecticides is in agriculture, but they are also used in home and garden settings, i ...

application can produce paradoxical target rebound by hitting ''V. aucta'' as well as the intended ''P. spumarius''. This is also a problem for

tillage Tillage is the agriculture, agricultural preparation of soil by mechanical wikt:agitation#Noun, agitation of various types, such as digging, stirring, and overturning. Examples of manual labour, human-powered tilling methods using hand tools inc ...

, but only specifically in April, due to the particularities of the ''V. aucta'' lifecycle. Although not terribly common anywhere, across all of

Northern Italy Northern Italy (, , ) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. The Italian National Institute of Statistics defines the region as encompassing the four Northwest Italy, northwestern Regions of Italy, regions of Piedmo ...

it was most common in the

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

References

External links

Images representing ''Verrallia aucta''
at BOLD Pipunculidae Insects described in 1817 Diptera of Europe {{Pipunculidae-stub