Abstract
Specimens of the feather-legged fly, Trichopoda pennipes (Fabricius) (Diptera: Tachinidae), which parasitize adults of the southern green stink bug Nezara viridula (L.) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), have been detected in Giza, Egypt. This is the first record of this Nearctic species with its genus (Trichopoda) and its tribe (Gymnosomatini) in Egypt. T. pennipes is known as an endoparasitoid of many true bug hosts, the pests of various crops, and it could have a potentiality to control these pests in addition to N. viridula, which is known to be its principal host. Taxonomy and diagnosis of the detected parasitoid species in addition to a checklist of the subfamily Phasiinae in Egypt are provided. Colored photographs of the parasitoid larval and adult stages and parasitized host are provided as well.
Highlights
Flies of the family Tachinidae are an important group of endoparasitoids in their larval stage, and all their hosts are of the arthropods, almost exclusively other insects, including important insect pests in agriculture and forestry
In the Old World, T. pennipes has been accidentally introduced to Italy, where it was first recorded near Rome in 1988, and it is well established as an important natural enemy of N. viridula in this country (Colazza et al 1996)
Two of these individuals were found in November 2019 within a cage in which the southern green stink bug N. viridula was reared at the Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt
Summary
Flies of the family Tachinidae are an important group of endoparasitoids in their larval stage, and all their hosts are of the arthropods, almost exclusively other insects, including important insect pests in agriculture and forestry. Species of the genus Trichopoda (Berthold 1827) are commonly known as the “feather-legged flies” because of the prominent fringe of feather-like setae on their hind legs One of these species, T. pennipes (Fabricius 1781), is an endoparasitoid of late-instar nymph and adult of the southern green stink bug, Nezara viridula (L.) (Todd 1989). In the Old World, T. pennipes has been accidentally introduced to Italy, where it was first recorded near Rome in 1988, and it is well established as an important natural enemy of N. viridula in this country (Colazza et al 1996) In following years, it was recorded from several other Mediterranean and European countries: Spain (Peris 1998; Tschorsnig et al 2000), France (Tschorsnig et al 2000; Galerie-insecte 2015), Slovenia (De Groot et al 2007), the Netherlands (Zeegers 2010), El-Hawagry et al Egyptian Journal of Biological Pest Control (2020) 30:12. Larvae overwinter within the host bug and emerge in the following late spring or early summer (Worthley 1924)
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