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Far East, 44.85N 131.7E? 15/05/2024
Ex pupa of Carabid Pterostichus orientalis

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dorsal view

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Hi Nikita, this one is very interesting. Carabidae are very rare as hosts for Tachinidae, only found in Dexiini, Dufouriini and Blondeliini. It looks like the latter. Do you know whether the host was adult or larva ?
I need to work on this. Could very well be a spec.nov.

Theo

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Hi Theo.
1. Thank you.
2. It was "ex pupa"

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Some references on puparia:

Greene, C. T. 1922. An illustrated synopsis of the puparia of 100 muscoid flies (Diptera). Proceedings of the United States National Museum 60 (Art. 10) [= No. 2405]: 1–39 + 20 pls.

Ziegler, J. 1998. Die Morphologie der Puparien und der larvalen Cephalopharyngealskelette der Raupenfliegen (Diptera, Tachinidae) und ihre phylogenetische Bewertung. Studia dipterologica. Supplement 3: 244 pp.

I have only seen the first. A catalog will be needed to translate Greene's genera into modern genera.

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It is very confusing. The abdominal pattern is reminiscent of oriental Dexia-species, but the habitus is totally different.
As for the host: I think it is pretty difficult to recognize Pterostichus-species in larval state. So if this record is reliable, I think it is very likely it was an adult beetle.


Theo

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Kirill Vladimirovich Makarov is a prominent specialist in the systematics and morphology of ground beetle larvae of the world fauna. His main area of research interests is the development of the methodological foundations of larval hetotaxy and the creation of a family system based on the characters of preimaginal stages.
https://carabidae.org/user/Kirill+Makarov
I asked him once again about this case.
1. No doubts that Pterostichus orientalis
2. No doubt that from pupa.

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Kirill's explanation:
I only had one pair of Pterostichus orientalis. The male died and a puparium appeared in the cage; the female is still alive and lays eggs by inertia. The substrate in the cage is coconut crumbs, I am very careful about its sterility (since I do not need "alien" larvae at all). Is the origin of the fly obvious?

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Thanks for checking with the source, Nikita. I will see if I can consult experts on the Oriental fauna. I'm pretty sure it is a Blondeliini, but there is no obvious match at generic level.


Theo

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Theo, do you want specimen?

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It would be great to be able to study the specimen "live".
If you have options to send it by post, that would be excellent.
But please wait for one week, since I will be in Prague next week.


Theo