''Wattia'' is a genus of

flies Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwin ...

in the family

Tachinidae The Tachinidae are a large and variable family of true fly, flies within the insect order Fly, 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 t ...

. 3 species have been described, W. ferruginea, W. petiolata and W. sessilis. The species, now extinct was discovered by

John Russell Malloch John Russell Malloch (16 November 1875 – 1963) was a Scotland, Scottish Entomology, entomologist who specialised in Fly, Diptera and Hymenoptera. Malloch was born at Milton of Campsie in Stirlingshire, Scotland. His widowed father had one son, ...

in 1938. It is classified in the subfamily

Tachininae Tachininae is a family (biology), subfamily of fly, flies in the family Tachinidae. Tribes & genera The classification below has been called into question by Stireman et al. but new tribal assignments have not been formally published. *Tribe ...

and in the family

. The genus was originally found in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Species

*''

Wattia ferruginea ''Wattia'' is a genus of flies in the family Tachinidae. 3 species have been described, W. ferruginea, W. petiolata and W. sessilis. The species, now extinct was discovered by John Russell Malloch in 1938. It is classified in the subfamily Tachi ...

'' Malloch, 1938 *''

Wattia petiolata ''Wattia'' is a genus of flies in the family Tachinidae. 3 species have been described, W. ferruginea, W. petiolata and W. sessilis. The species, now extinct was discovered by John Russell Malloch in 1938. It is classified in the subfamily Tachi ...

'' Malloch, 1938 *''

Wattia sessilis ''Wattia'' is a genus of flies in the family Tachinidae. 3 species have been described, W. ferruginea, W. petiolata and W. sessilis. The species, now extinct was discovered by John Russell Malloch in 1938. It is classified in the subfamily Tachi ...

'' Malloch, 1938

Distribution

The genus use to roam

before its extinction, mostly forested areas and either lakes and either areas with food sources, like fruit and carcasses, mostly dead animal matter.

Diet

Like many other genuses in the family

and

, it's diet mainly consisted of either nuts and fruit, and in large groups feeding on dead animal carcasses before the genus' extinction in

. It may have also eaten dead birds, also with females laying eggs on dead carcasses.

Characteristics

Like other fly genuses in the family

and

, it may have been around the size of a

house fly The housefly (''Musca domestica'') is a fly of the suborder Cyclorrhapha. It possibly originated in the Middle East, and spread around the world as a commensal of humans. Adults are gray to black, with four dark, longitudinal lines on the t ...

with male adults being larger than the female adults.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q14395591 Tachinidae Brachycera genera Endemic insects of New Zealand Taxa named by John Russell Malloch Diptera of New Zealand