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Seen in Umbria, Italy 18 October

Assumed tachinid, but unsure of species.

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..

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Yes, it is a female Tachina.
Normally, I'd say it is T. fera, but I can't rule out casta.

Theo

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It is the species which I collect still in October November, at the moment never before.
The first intra-alar postsuturale bristle seems absent, the marginal median bristles on tergites 4 are numerous, on the tergite 3 it is not the case (?).
I find it close to Tachina casta.
I had made a thread on this species http://www.dipter...d_id=44071

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Christoophe,


You are right. This is not fera, but more something like casta.
And there is another 'ghost' species I have never seen, I think it is called corsicana.

Theo

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Ok, I'll put it down as Tachina cf. casta so. Unless I am labelling that incorrectly.

My list for the Italian mainland is below, could be inaccurate I suppose but I am guessing corsicana is endemic to Corsica ?

Tachina casta (Rondani, 1859)
Tachina fera (Linnaeus, 1761)
Tachina grossa (Linnaeus, 1758)
Tachina lurida (Fabricius, 1781)
Tachina magna (Giglio-Tos, 1890)
Tachina magnicornis (Zetterstedt, 1844)
Tachina nigrohirta (Stein, 1924)
Tachina nupta (Rondani, 1859)
Tachina praeceps Meigen, 1824
Tachina ursina Meigen, 1824

source. http://www.faunaeur.org/species_list.php

Thanks for the help Theo/Christoophe

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The reddish margin of scutum and red parts on pleuron are a clear feature of T. casta (see Cerretti, if you can read Italian), not corsicana.

Latter, by the way, restricted to Sardinia in Italy (loc. cit.).

So casta it is !

Theo

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Cheers. Thanks again Theo