Nowickia ferox

Nowickia ferox is a species of fly in the family Tachinidae first described by Georg Wolfgang Franz Panzer in 1809.[1][2]

Nowickia ferox
Tachinid fly, Nowickia ferox, dorsal view
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Diptera
Family:	Tachinidae
Genus:	Nowickia
Species:	N. ferox
Binomial name
Nowickia ferox (Panzer, 1809
Synonyms
Tachina ferox Panzer, 1809 Echinomyia nigricornis Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830 Fabriciella pandellei Baranov, 1929

Distribution and habitat

This species is present in most of Europe.[3] These flies mainly inhabit spruce forest edge, meadows, areas of heath and mountains at an elevation up to 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) above sea level.[4][5]

Description

Side view

Nowickia ferox can reach a length of 11–15 millimetres (0.43–0.59 in).[4] These flies have a black hairy thorax and a yellow-red abdomen, with a black longitudinal marking in the middle and numerous long straight bristles at the end. Wings are hyaline (glass like), yellowish at the base.[6] Basal half of the palps are brown or blackish. Males are a little concave in theirs dorsal centre. In the abdomen only segments 7 and 8 are hairy.[5]

Biology

Nowickia ferox is a univoltine species. Adults can be found from mid-June to October, with a peak from June to August. They fed on nectar and pollen, especially of Centaurea jacea.[4] Larvae develop in the dark arches moth (Apamea monoglypha).[4][5][6]

References

1. BioLib.cz
2. Bisby F.A., Roskov Y.R., Orrell T.M., Nicolson D., Paglinawan L.E., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., Baillargeon G., Ouvrard D. Catalogue of Life
3. Fauna Europaea
4. Commanster
5. Hans-Peter Tschorsnig and Benno Herting The Tachinids (Diptera: Tachinidae) of Central Europe: Identification Keys for the Species and Data on Distribution and Ecology. State Museum of Natural Science, Stuttgart
6. Nature Spot

External links

• Arthropoda.pavouci