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Hello,

what type of tachinidae is this? Estheria? (found today in my garden in western germany.)

Thanks,
Michael

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Looks more like Frauenfeldia rubricosa (Rhinophoridae)


Theo

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a perfect example that in Nature there are no rules. :)
It hasn't an evident petiole (I'd say better: there is no petiole) for this Rhinophoridae! I thought that there were no virtual exceptions for this rule in Rhinophoridae... I was wrong.

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This was also the reason, why I was wrong again with the family. How can you distinguish this from a tachinid?

Anyway - Thanks a lot for the identification,
Michael

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So far my best method, which is not fool-proof, is to look at how the fly behaves. Most larger Tachinids are quite docile, if not they fly away right away and rarely allow another shot. The smaller ones tend to fly away easier, and land somewhere out of your sight.

Rhinophorids tend to be more nervous, but they hop around rather than stay at one place or fly away.

Of course you need to put the behavior of the fly into your memory.

Also Rhinophorids somehow look to me as smalll Dexiine Tachinids, they have relatievely long legs, but they are much smaller than Dexiini. I do not think this is fool-proof either.

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Michael.could you please change the title ?

There is no rule that Rhinophoridae must have a petiole.
Many don't.

In this case, one first recognizes the species.
IN general, the calyptrae are small in Rhinophoridae, large in Tachinidae (with a few exceptions). Impossible to see in this pic.


Theo

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Thank you for your answers. I see, I will confuse them in future too.

Here is the only shot I have, on which the calyptrae are visible. The fly was really calm and didn't hop or fly - it was 9 AM and still rather fresh.

Michael