Golden Tachinid Fly vs Hemiandrus Earwig

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Golden Tachinid Fly Hemiandrus Earwig
Scientific Name Archytas marmoratus Hemimerus talpoides
Order Diptera Dermaptera
Family Tachinidae Hemimeridae
Size 10-14 mm 8-12 mm
Habitat Farmland Farmland
Diet Parasites Omnivores
Regions North America, Central America Sub-Saharan Africa
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Golden Tachinid Fly

A large bristly parasitic fly with golden-brown hairs found across the Americas. It parasitizes armyworm and cutworm caterpillars in crops.

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Did You Know?

It is one of the most important natural enemies of fall armyworm in North American agriculture.

Hemiandrus Earwig

A blind, wingless earwig that lives exclusively as a commensal on giant pouched rats. Its cerci are modified into short, unsegmented claspers rather than the typical forceps.

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Did You Know?

Unlike all other earwigs, Hemimerus gives birth to live young that develop inside the mother via a placenta-like structure.