Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods) ➔ Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods) ➔ Class Insecta (Insects) ➔ Order Diptera (True flies) ➔ Family Tachinidae (Parasite flies)

Panzeria rudis (Fallén, 1810)

Eulen-Raupenfliege

Synonyms and other combinations:

Tachina rudis Fallén, 1810 | Ernestia microcera Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830 | Musca torvus Harris, 1780 | Nemoraea varicornis Macquart, 1848 | Panzeria lateralis Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830 | Tachina strenua Meigen, 1824 |

  • Panzeria rudis, male  4663
    Panzeria rudis (Fallén, 1810)  Eulen-Raupenfliege   
    Panzeria rudis, male, det. Stephane Lebrun
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald; 2011-06-11 13:52:42
    Image number: 4663
    male
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald
    2011-06-11 13:52:42
    det. Stephane Lebrun
  • Panzeria rudis, female  5246
    Panzeria rudis (Fallén, 1810)  Eulen-Raupenfliege   
    Panzeria rudis, female
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald; 2012-05-18 15:45:20
    Image number: 5246
    female
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald
    2012-05-18 15:45:20

  • Panzeria rudis, female  5247
    Panzeria rudis (Fallén, 1810)  Eulen-Raupenfliege   
    Panzeria rudis, female
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald; 2012-05-18 15:45:41
    Image number: 5247
    female
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald
    2012-05-18 15:45:41


Classification:
Panzeria rudis belongs to the subfamily Tachininae.
Distribution:
Europe, in parts of Asia.
Habitat:
Deciduous, mixed and pine forests.
Description:
Body length 9 - 12 mm; back of the head on top behind the post-ocular hairs with 2 - 4 rows of black bristlets; cheeks (almost) bare; eye hairs yellow; middle black longitudinal thoracic stripes before the suture separate; scutellum with crossed apical bristles; base of 3rd antennal segment yellow.
Males: frons 0.17 - 0.26x as wide as one eye; anterior claws 1.5 - 1.8x as long as the last tarsal segment.
Females: 4th segment of the fore tarsus almost 2x as wide as long.
Biology:
Panzeria rudis forms one generation per year.
The larvae of Panzeria rudis parasitize the caterpillars of owlet moths. Known hosts are the Pine Beauty (Panolis flammea), the Common Quaker (Orthosia cerasi), the Setaceous Hebrew character (Xestia c-nigrum) and the Red Sword-grass (Xylena vetusta).
Adults of Panzeria rudis appear in May and fly until July. After mating, the embryos develop in the fertilized eggs in the uterus-like oviduct of the females. The eggs are laid on parts of the plant where the host caterpillars feed. The tachinid larvae hatch when the eggs are laid and immediately start looking for a suitable host. As soon as they have found one, they bore themselves into the host. The borehole remains open and allows the larva to breathe. The larva feeds inside the host. Initially the caterpillar develops further, but dies shortly before the pupation. 1 - 2 days after the death of the caterpillar the adult tachinid larva leaves the host to pupate. Pupation takes place within a puparium, the hardened shell of the third instar. Panzeria rudis hibernates as a pupa.
Note:
Panzeria rudis (Fallén, 1810) = Ernestia rudis (Fallén, 1810)

References, further reading, links:
  1. Pape T. & Thompson F.C. (eds) (2017). Systema Dipterorum (version 2.0, Jan 2011). In: Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life, 2017 Annual Checklist (Roskov Y., Abucay L., Orrell T., Nicolson D., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., DeWalt R.E., Decock W., De Wever A., Nieukerken E. van, Zarucchi J., Penev L., eds.). Digital resource at www.catalogueoflife.org/annual-checklist/2017. Species 2000: Naturalis, Leiden, the Netherlands. ISSN 2405-884X.
  2. de Jong, Y.S.D.M. (ed.) (2013) Fauna Europaea version 2.6.2 Web Service available online at https://fauna-eu.org/
  3. Hans-Peter Tschorsnig, Benno Herting: Die Raupenfliegen (Diptera: Tachinidae) Mitteleuropas: Bestimmungstabellen und Angaben zur Verbreitung und Ökologie der einzelnen Arten, Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde Serie A (Biologie), vol. 506, 1994.
    The Tachinids (Diptera: Tachinidae) of Central Europe: Identification Keys for the Species and Data on Distribution and Ecology, Translation by Rotraud Rayner & Chris Raper, 2001
  4. U. Schulz & F. Dreger: Higher abundance of Ernestia rudis in transformed pine forests of Germany and search for the diversity of hosts, The Tachinid Times 16, Febr. 2003, page 8.
  5. Hans Sachtleben: Die Forleule Panolis flammea Schiff., Monographien zum Pflanzenschutz, Berlin, Verlag von Julius Springer, 1929.