''Conops quadrifasciatus'', the yellow-banded conops, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of fly from the genus ''

Conops A concept of operations (abbreviated CONOPS, CONOPs, or ConOps) is a document describing the characteristics of a proposed system from the viewpoint of an individual who will use that system. Examples include business requirements specificatio ...

'' in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Conopidae The Conopidae, usually known as the thick-headed flies, are a family of flies within the Brachycera suborder of Diptera, and the sole member of the superfamily Conopoidea. Flies of the family Conopidae are distributed worldwide in all the bioge ...

Distribution and habitat

This species is common throughout much of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. It is also present in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

and

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. These conopds can be found mainly on rough flowery places, on meadows and on roadsides.

Description

''Conops quadrifasciatus'' can reach a length of .These wasp-like conopids have a black head and body. The abdomen is basically black with a vivid yellow bands. Face is yellow, but above antennal implant is black, and the area containing the ocelli has the same colour as the eyes. The antennae are black. It has a long proboscis. Thorax and scutellum are black. The posterior margins of the first four segments of the abdomen are yellow, the fifth segment is yellow.

Tergite A ''tergum'' (Latin for "the back"; plural ''terga'', associated adjective tergal) is the dorsal ('upper') portion of an arthropod segment other than the head. The anterior edge is called the 'base' and posterior edge is called the 'apex' or 'mar ...

1-3 are mainly black. The legs are yellow-brown. Femurs 2 and 3 are uniformly pale, sometimes with a small darkened spot. In males tergite is 5 black with broad yellow band at hind border. Females show a slimmer physique and have under the 5th abdominal segment a brownish-yellow, rounded pouch (

theca In biology, a theca (plural thecae) is a sheath or a covering. Botany In botany, the theca is related to plant's flower anatomy. The theca of an angiosperm consists of a pair of microsporangia that are adjacent to each other and share a comm ...

), slightly hooked downward at the apex. This species is rather similar to '' Conops ceriaeformis''.

Biology

Adults behave like solitary wasps. They fly from June to September and feed on nectar and pollen of flowers, mainly of ''

Chamerion angustifolium ''Chamaenerion angustifolium'' is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant in the willowherb family Onagraceae. It is known in North America as fireweed, in some parts of Canada as great willowherb, in Britain and Ireland as rosebay willowherb. In ...

'' (''

Onagraceae The Onagraceae are a family of flowering plants known as the willowherb family or evening primrose family. They include about 650 species of herbs, shrubs, and trees Heracleum sphondylium ''Heracleum sphondylium'', commonly known as hogweed, common hogweed or cow parsnip, is a herbaceous perennial or biennial plant, in the umbelliferous family Apiaceae that includes fennel, cow parsley, ground elder and giant hogweed. It is nat ...

'' (''

Apiaceae Apiaceae or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus '' Apium'' and commonly known as the celery, carrot or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering plan ...

''), '' Leucanthemum vulgare'', ''

Cirsium arvense ''Cirsium arvense'' is a perennial species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native throughout Europe and western Asia, northern Africa and widely introduced elsewhere.Joint Nature Conservation Committee''Cirsium arvense'' The standa ...

'', '' Senecio nemorensis'' (''

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

''), ''

Valeriana ''Valeriana'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Caprifoliaceae, members of which may by commonly known as valerians. It contains many species, including the garden valerian, ''Valeriana officinalis''. Species are native to all continen ...

'', ''and '' Lamiaceae'' species.J.K. Lindse
Commanster
/ref> Their

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

e are

endoparasites Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has ...

of bumble bees of the genus ''

Bombus A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct related gener ...

'', especially ''

Bombus lapidarius ''Bombus lapidarius'' is a species of bumblebee in the subgenus '' Melanobombus''. Commonly known as the red-tailed bumblebee, ''B. lapidarius'' can be found throughout much of Central Europe. Known for its distinctive black and red body, this so ...

''. The females pounce the bumblebees and lay an egg between the tergites by means of the hooked abdomen.

Gallery

File: Conopidae - Conops quadrifasciatus (male).jpg, Male File: Conopidae - Conops quadrifasciatus (female).jpg, Female File:Conops.quadrifasciatus.wing.detail.jpg, Wing details

References

External links

Nature Spot.

Diptera.info
{{Taxonbar, from=Q222604 Parasitic flies Conopidae Muscomorph flies of Europe Insects described in 1776 Articles containing video clips Endoparasites Taxa named by Charles De Geer